11/09/2025
“Hindi pera, hindi regalo… presensya ng magulang ang pinakapangarap ng isang bata.”
---
Grade 1 ako noon. That time, nagsisimula nang mag-boom ang business ng parents ko. Masaya dapat, kasi diba that means blessings are coming in. Pero kasabay nun, halos wala silang oras. Lagi silang busy, madalas late sa mga meetings sa school, at kung minsan, wala talaga.
Kapag may PTA meeting, our teacher would ask us, students, to stay inside the classroom, habang mga magulang namin pwedeng umupo sa tabi namin o tumayo sa likod. Excited ang mga kaklase ko kasi andiyan ang nanay o tatay nila. Ako? Nasa upuan ko lang, mag-isa. Hoping. Praying. “Baka this time, pumasok na si Mama at umupo sa tabi ko.”
Pero wala. 😔
I tried my best not to cry. Kinagat-kagat ko pa sleeve ng jacket ko just to hold back my tears. Pero habang tumatagal, hindi ko na napigilan. Tears fell, and then sobs came, hanggang sa naging malakas na ang iyak ko. I noticed one of my classmates’ mom looking at me. Kita sa mga mata niya, she felt bad for me, she understood why I was crying. She didn’t do anything.
The next meeting came. Same story. Walang Mama sa tabi ko. Anxiety and loneliness started to creep in. Kinakagat ko na ang lapis ko para lang mailabas ang nararamdaman ko. Tears were about to fall again when I suddenly felt someone gently touch the pencil in my mouth and gently pull it away.
“Dirty yan, wag mong ilalagay sa bibig mo,” she whispered.
It was the same classmate’s mom. She tapped my back, telling me softly, “Don’t cry. Just continue your work. Your mom is just outside… hindi lang natin makita kasi nasa gilid siya.”
For the first time, I felt comforted. My little heart felt seen, kahit sandali lang.
But minutes later, our teacher closed the door dahil maingay sa kabilang section. My chest tightened again. I started crying once more. Kasi ang tanong sa isip ko, “Kung andiyan si Mama sa labas… bakit hindi siya pumasok para may kasama rin akong mama?”
That pain stayed with me. The feeling of being neglected. The feeling na baka nakalimutan na ako.
Pero sa kabila nun, nandoon pa rin siya, my classmate’s mom. Tapping my back, comforting me, assuring me that Mama was just outside waiting. And from then on, every time may meeting or program, I found myself looking for her. And whenever I saw her smile at me, I felt something I had been longing for, comfort. Presence. Love. Like she was my second mom.
At hindi lang iyon natapos sa Grade 2. Tuloy-tuloy iyon hanggang sa graduation ko sa elementarya. Lagi siyang nandoon, minsan nakatingin lang, minsan ngumingiti, pero sapat na para maramdaman kong I was not invisible.
💔 Sometimes, people think bata pa, hindi pa naiintindihan, matibay naman. Pero hindi totoo ‘yon. Kids feel it deeply, the absence, the waiting, the longing. Minsan, ang kailangan lang talaga namin ay simpleng presensya. Yung may kasama. Yung may kakapitan at may katabing mama o daddy sa classroom.
At sa lahat ng bagay, ang presensya ng magulang ang pinaka-importante para sa mga bata.
✨ Kaya sana, huwag nating kalimutan: ang pinaka-regalo na maibibigay natin sa mga anak natin ay ang mismong tayo.
