Luckily, we were allowed to hang-out at our friends� place, where we spent numerous hours chatting with our guy phone pals - with the blessings of our friend�s mother, of course. Mind that there is not much freedom to stay on the phone for long periods of time since our home is just three doors away and we can be called to go home anytime.
Rule No. 2, Chay and I were never allowed to go out on dates with guys. So my sister dated in the guise of going out with our friends. Fortunately, my siblings and I share the same neighborhood barkada and I sometimes help cover up for them.
So my sister had her share of dates and boyfriends in high school, while I live a vicarious life through the pages of my Sweet Dreams and Mills and Boons. Because I was too chicken to defy my folks � not to mention face the disappointments of my aunts and uncles - I had to forgo those puppy-love-stages that teens go through. This, of course, was not for want of suitors. Two guys actually courted me and I had to say no to both although one of them was my crush. Sigh!
So now you have an idea of how strict and protective my relatives were. But it�s different now. The family is less strict than during my teen years. I guess it�s because they�ve learned that we would only continue to struggle out of the tight ropes they�ve looped around our necks. And of course, the dent my sister made to the family�s tradition of work-before-marriage when she married young helped my family accept the fact that they can never map out their children�s lives.
That�s why asking my cousins to go along with my No-Boyfriends-Until-I-Had-One rule seems only fair since I had to go through the same thing. But of course, nobody took the said rule seriously. In fact, 2 of my cousins Mel (20) and Lyn (18) were allowed to have boyfriends in high school � with the full knowledge and permission of their parents. Of course, the acceptance was gradual and both had to look for the guts to own up to the rumors when they were first found out.
The sore point, at least for me, is that they had boyfriends before I did. Ugh! Totally unfair! To make matters look worse, my cousin Mel is now 6 months pregnant and might decide to marry her boyfriend. So, I�m gonna be an auntie again. Although I am still ambiguous when it comes to my cousin�s current status, one thing I�m certain of. I�m thrilled to welcome another baby in our clan. In our family, there�s never been any doubt about that.
I guess I just feel sad to see Mel going through the stages of motherhood at such an age. I feel that she has so much potential and that she�ll have to shelve this for some time. I know she�ll never have to worry about money for baby formulas, clothes and the likes. Besides having doting relatives, not to mention a rich and hard working mother, the baby�s father can and is willing to shoulder some of the expenses. He is five years older than Mel and already has a stable job.
So there goes another love train and I�m totally not on it. Cupid�s arrows can�t seem to find me now that I�m at an age. Why is that, I sometimes wonder. I mean, I may not be the drop-dead hot chick around, but neither am I ugly. Besides, I refuse to believe that the only men left in this world are those who only look at your boobies and hips.
And when one arrow was finally thrown my way, it only grazed my heart and left me with more baggage. But that�s another story and I digress. I�m more worried about catching my next ride. Perhaps I�m more like my aunts and elder cousins who were destined to marry late in life. A |
