7 November 2020
#ripplesworld
interculturalroots.org/ripples
When I was 4, I would record myself singing and telling stories on cassette tapes and my mother would send them to our loved ones abroad. She said that those tapes would make our families happy.
When I got a job, I would save up money to visit my siblings and cousins, and their children abroad. This year, I saved up to experience 3 summers: one in Manila, one in California, and one in Melbourne. Unfortunately, those family reunions didn’t happen.
With the travel ban restrictions due to the pandemic, my siblings and cousins would just send me videos of my niblings. On weekends at 5:00 a.m., my niblings would call to play and chat with me online.
Time zones are making my body clock crazy but my niblings are adorable. I savor these moments when they still need me and think that I’m the cool aunt.
Sometimes I worry that they would forget me. Silly me. I still remember Tita Bengga and Uncle Cris, and every little gift they gave me. #ripplesworld
Olive Nieto 