Si Nanay Tess

Nanay Tess was born on June 6, 1938 in Bacolod City. She is the second of four siblings. While she has remained single all her life, she rarely feels lonely; rather, she invests her spare time in various activities such as photography, collecting cards and photos, crocheting, gardening, reading the Bible and various other Christian texts, watching televison (usually telenovelas and Maalaala Mo Kaya), and playng Scrabbles.

She is a very pious woman, whose persona has been wholly committed to God. As a retired minister, Nanay Tess enjoys mingling with young adults, usually with women, with whom she converses about the Protestant ministry. In their meetings, Nanay Tess delights in bringing some of her favorite food: hard boiled eggs, arroz valenciana, dilis, squid, adobo, laswa, and her most preferred dessert, Graham icebox cake.

It was in the year 2007 when Nanay Tess was diagnosed with kidney failure, which eventually led to other organ malfunctions. Once, she had fallen victim to a heart attack, and has grown brittle and "very sick" since. Upon learning her condition, she claims to have had mixed reactions, usually that of fear, insecurity, and even anxiety.

In struggling with her condition, Nanay Tess was given a multitude of precautions, which were usually sets of "dont's". She was not allowed to carry heavy materials, nor indulge in strenuous activities that would stress her out. Her hi-fiber and low-fat intake was adjusted up a notch, which completely changed her diet. If there was one thing that Nanay Tess misses doing - something that she used to do then, but cannot do now because of her condition - she claims that it is going to Church every Sunday. She also reminisces cleaning her yard and washing clothes, which she can't even do now since she is mostly kept to rest inside her home.

The three things that make Nanay Tess happiest in her life right now points to three simple hobbies, all of which tie her to her spiritual roots: the first is serving the Lord, followed by reading the Bible, and praying. She is most concerned about herself, and which roles she holds in the world right now. She is also concerned about her sickness, which she claims to bother her terribly these days. Lastly, she is also concerned about money, which is presently on the mind of everyone that she knows and loves.

"Fighting spirits", she claims, is the biggest challenge that she ever had to overcome. Coming from a religious background, she means this to be fighting her demons, or fighting obstacles and temptations. Every time she gets to that point in her life when she feels suffocated by all the bad things, she always returns to her God, and her faith remains powerful.

In answering the question of which thing in her life she is most proud of, she does not refer to any of her achievements; instead, she talks about her friend, Helen of whom she is most proud for taking care of her 24/7, and for showing the most concern over her status from the day she was hospitalized up to the present. She regrets though, that she had not been careful about her health: that she would drink soft drinks even with an empty stomach and that she would not eat on time. She says that if she could go back in time, she would tell her past self to be careful on becoming a workaholic lest she unknowingly abuses her health. And that, if there was one thing to really tell her younger version, who did not go into a lot of romantic ventures, it would be to "love yourself".

When asked how she sees herself five years hence, Nanay Tess does not hope any longer for a life extension. Instead, she feels that, any day now, it would be time. She believes that when that time comes, everything else would "feel great", for she will be "in the Lord's Place". These days, she just winds down by telling herself to take good care of herself by looking after her health through self discipline or self control. Her faith undyingly and passionately burns as each day, she patiently waits for her Lord to escort her to His Kingdom.

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Isinulat ko ang piyesang ito noong nakaraang semestre para sa isang proyekto sa kursong Psy101. Hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit nakaligtaan ko itong ipaskil dito. Noon, may rason ako, ngunit hindi ko na maalala ngayon. Pakiramdam ko, malaki ang utang na loob ko, at kahit na ipagsigawan ko iyon dito ngayon, hindi pa rin sapat upang mahilom ang papawiring nagkalat ng pighati sa mundong ito.

Sumalangit na si Nanay Tess nitong Pebrero. "Goodnight" ang salitang huli niyang binigkas.

Maraming salamat, Nanay Tess. Walang nang iba pa. Maraming, maraming salamat po. Nasa piling ka na ng iyong Minamahal.