What’s up Hivers!
I’m here again sharing about my most beloved Lolo (my grandfather on my father’s side) who I viewed as a blessing which not everyone is fortunate to have. He is irreplaceable. He loves us unconditionally and treated us with extreme care and attention.
His name is Teodulfo. We usually call him lolo dolpo or lolo dolping. He just turned 91 years old last June 25. At his age, he could still narrate to his grandchildren clearly his experiences during the war back in his childhood then. For me, he is gifted with a remarkable memory.
He still has a good eyesight. He reads and drinks his medicine on his own. He sings and plays guitar up until now even if we can’t relate to his old and unfamiliar songs, but still we sing with him making up our own lyrics. He also loves to watch sports like basketball, volleyball and boxing .
A Public Servant
He was once a dedicated and committed public servant in our barangay ( a barangay councilor to be exact ) for 3 consecutive terms in the year 1990’s and focused on giving importance to agriculture. He was able to guide and took initiatives to help the farmers in our place when it comes to maintaining good harvest like fertilizers, seeds/seedlings and the like, which was very hard for them to acquire during their time because of inaccessibility to government privileges and limited access to financial services. Farmers were living a difficult life from past years.
An Ox in the Farm
It has been said that farmers are the backbone of the society. They are the most important people in the world for they are the ones who took ceaseless efforts just to provide food to fill our stomach and nourish our body.
My Lolo is a diligent farmer. He’s like an ox in the farm when he was younger. I am a living witness of how hardworking my Lolo is because I always spent and stayed with them during vacation in my younger years. I am very close to my grandparents not because I am their favorite apo (grandchild) but because I am the eldest grandchild.
I could still remember when my father shared to me an experiences of their childhood that they seldom had time to play because my Lolo assigned him and each of his siblings a parcel of land for them to cultivate after school. They had their best plays in the farm especially during weekend.
My Lolo used to wake up as early as 3 in the morning and get ready of the things to be brought in the farm, then sipped a cup of pinaig (corn coffee ) and packed a bowl of tinughong (left over rice cooked and boiled again) for his breakfast. My grandmother(died 2 years ago) after doing her errand in the house will then go after my Lolo in the farm and brought with her some foods for my Lolo’s lunch.
I find it heartbreaking seeing my Lolo in the farm working so hard under the torturing heat of the sun with sweat dripping. Rain or shine , he went to his farm to check on the crops. My Lolo spent all his day in the farm but he never complained and never stopped.
Our Life Skill Teacher
In our family, I considered my grandfather as a representation of a super Lolo ( grandfather) not for the super powers that he possessed for he doesn’t have one but for the virtues and wisdom in life that he imparted to his children and grandchildren. He sometimes scolded us and corrected our mistakes when necessary.
I truly adore my Lolo for inculcating to us the right values that have helped shape our character and the virtues of patience and strength that somehow made us pliant like a bamboo in dealing with the difficulties in life .
Believing that patience would allow us to wait calmly in the face of adversity and never allow anything to upset us, he influenced his children and grandchildren to grow with the patience of saints. He had instilled and successfully sow the seeds of patience into the hearts of his children and down to his grandchildren. Through patience, he was able to maintain the strength to never give up combatting life’s battle.
With my super Lolo, we have gained a lot from him. Until now, he continues to give advice and finest insights to us on how to approach life with optimism.
I wish and pray for his happiness and best of health everyday.🙏
