freedom

today, my country celebrates 112 years of being independent.

we used to be a colony of spain and the US. the british wanted in, too, and the japanese occupied our land.  after liberation, we were granted our own government under the commonwealth. call it a government's on-the-job training. the US recognized our freedom on july 4, 1946, but one of our presidents transferred the date to june 12, in accordance with the original date we first unfurled our flag and first played our national anthem.

growing up, i never cared much for holidays. for me, holidays were days off from school, days i can sleep late and watch TV all day. before i became a mother, i never cared for these things: freedom, politics, environment. for almost 30 years of my life, i took all of these for granted.

motherhood changes a woman. all of a sudden, everything has to be taken care of, so the child can be safe. as a mother, you try to prepare everything for your child's future.  you become more aware of your surroundings, because you're afraid that the flood may take your child away. you demand better service from your leaders, because you know your child deserves the best. you realize that you're lucky than most, you have the freedom to be the mother your child needs you to be. other mothers cant even take care of their own child because they went away to work.

for my child, i will be more aware of my freedom. i will enjoy it, guard it, making sure i can pass it to their generation. i owe it to my son and the sons who have died so we can have it.

photo courtesy of flickr.