Rowena is one of those rare individuals who
puts others first than herself. While she took care of her family, she took care of other families too while putting her career on hold and postponing her own plans and dreams in life.
At the age of 27, she gave up her youth and precious times of her life to take the biggest responsibility noone would dare take. Out of seven adult children and more than twenty adult grandchildren of our grandparents, it was only Rowena who took the responsibility of caring for our 89-year old grandmother. She changed grandmother's diapers, fed her, gave her medications, bathed her, cleaned after her and talked to her. She did all these without receiving any incentive such as a paycheck or any kind of financial assistance from the government. She cared for our grandmother from the heart. She showed that she cared not only by words that can easily be spoken, but by hard work and dedication for many years.
Shortly before our grandmother passed away, we experienced a family tragedy. Rowena had to juggle her time between caring for our grandmother, her family and our entire family. After our grandmother passed away, Rowena was still dealing with the family tragedy. She then had to put her career on hold again to care for our youngest sister, and to help our parents cope up with the most trying circumstances. Although she was emotionally hurt with what happened, she was very much in control. The things that were needed to be done got done no matter how overwhelming the situations were.
After all the ordeal, I asked for her help which demanded time on herself. She put her career on hold again because she had to make long distance trips for me to the government agencies where she always had to wait in lines. It took a lot of patience and hard work. It also took creativity to figure out the best way to get things done, as well as analytical skills necessary to solve my problems. I still don't know how she did it. I would have arrived to nowhere if I tackled the problem myself. I would have given up. She's the one who knows what to do and how to do it. She's the one who has the determination to do what it takes.
All our brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces and parents run to her for almost everything. She never ran out of patience and understanding. She never gave up on us.
Rowena didn't go out with girlfriends for an evening out to enjoy herself, but kept working to keep with the demands of being a wife, a mother, a daughter, a grandchild and a sister. She must have been exhausted, but I know she found peace and joy in everything she did for others and even in the most trying circumstances. She has now passed the board exam and is a professional nurse. Her patients must be very lucky because behind her beautiful face and beautiful smile is also a beautiful heart. I have witnessed over the years her kindness and selflessness. I hope that from this day on, she will live for herself to work on her own dreams. She deserves the very best. I'm so proud of her for being smart, kind, compassionate and responsible. I love her very dearly.
