My Matriarch's Orchids

maverickinvictus (64) in life • 6 years ago

@lynncoyle1 made me remember a memory long forgotten but ushered anew when she was talking about her flowers on her balcony.

She asked what is my favorite flower and to this I said I don't have one but just memories of my mom raising Orchids.

Her pride and joy were these Purple Orchids that she would lovingly water, trim and care for as she would talk to me about how to care for her plants.

Every Sunday before we went to church she would wake me and have her follow her to the garden after a bowl of oatmeal or cereal.

Source

She would have her tea of different herbs and leaves that is locally called *pito-pito" translated as seven-seven because of its 7 ingredients.

A traditional combination is: seven leaves of alagao, banaba, guava, pandan, and mango with half a teaspoon each of anis and cilantro, boiled for 30 minutes, strained and drained.

I was about 6 years old I remember being mommy's little helper as she sprayed her flowers and talked to them. She would often have Canon in D. I think that was one of the reasons why that music is something that always stirs the emotions when I hear it.

She must have been thinking of entrusting her orchids to me because my sisters did not have the aptitude and patience for gardening.

Apparently, I did not either as I have very warm hands and handling the leaves and pruning had a higher chance of killing the flowers. So I was delegated to the occasional spraying the orchids with fertilizer once a month.

I watch her as she moved from one plant to another, carefully talking to them, looking at their roots and seeing if they have any infestation.

She would remove any brown stems and dead flowers making way for new buds to grow.

There was a certain tenderness the Matriarch shows when she is tending to her flowers. It is a sharp contrast when after gardening she would often start her Sunday Sermons to the staff on what they are doing wrong.

She is different when she is alone in her garden. It is as if she forgets all the pressure and work that she puts on herself. It is as if she forgets all the problems that she carries and just be at peace surrounded by the green.

I can hear her hum along the music with a smile on her face and a glint of radiance in her eyes. She would see me looking at her and her smile beams like the sun.

She ruffles my hair and asks me if I want ice cream for waiting for her in a sunny day while she did her gardening and get her equilibrium for the week.

Such is my memory of my Matriarch's orchid.

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6 years ago by maverickinvictus (64)

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glenalbrethsen (68) · 6 years ago

My mother didn't have orchids or flowers. We did grow a pretty decent sized garden though that was dominated by tomato plants. We'd end up canning them in the early fall either into halves or sometimes sauce. Mostly, they were halved and pressure cooked to be stored for making something later.

I remember vaguely being on the assembly line for the tomatoes and the peaches. Peaches were generally toward the end of August if we went and picked any, and then tomatoes were normally a week or two later into mid-September.

I really should have learned how to cook from her. I think I have the aptitude for it, but I was too busy doing "guy" things to be bothered with. Then again, my Dad was a car mechanic, and I didn't learn that from him either.

I'm glad you have nice memories of your mother. Does the term matriarch mean anything personal to you? I know you've used it frequently. It's a formal, stately, majestic word, with a lot of respect and honor attached to it, I think. Is that what it feels like to you when you use it in talking about your mother? Just curious.

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maverickinvictus (64) · 6 years ago

My mom was such enamored with planting. She planted flowers, vegetables and spices. Most of the vegetables we ate would come from her garden.

She hails from a province north of the capital that is said to not consider any meal complete without vegetables. She loved eating camote tops with a pungent fish sauce that is fermented. I remember my sisters hated the smell of it. I took a liking from it.

Almost everyone called my mom Matriach even our cousins and relatives because being a lass from the province who had humble beginnings she was able to go to the capital and study.

She eventually became a professor of English in several top universities and some of the well known politicians we have now was so afraid of her before because she was a terror.

While teaching and raising kids she was also able to study law and from their created a company that would make life a bit more comfortable for us and our relatives.

She was very strict and all my cousins were afraid of her and the funniest memory I have was a cousin who was smoking in our backyard and heard her car park in the driveway and I saw him swallow the cigarette and climb the fence rather than face the Matriarch.

He was somewhat banned from the house because he was a bad influence hahaha.

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artgirl (66) · 6 years ago

Omg grabe nmn un. Kinain ung yosi. Hahahaha. Matindi pla si mader m. 👍👍👍

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glenalbrethsen (68) · 6 years ago

Swallowed the cigarette?! I hope he didn't do that a lot. I can't imagine what that did to his insides.

Well, your mother sounds like a very incredible person. She's done a lot in her life. Striking fear in the hearts of politicians is no easy task. Hurray for her! A professor, studied law, built a business.

Now, you've used the past tense a few times here. Has she passed away? I think I know your father did because you've talked about that. I apologize if I'm mistaking how you've been saying things. But I thought I should ask just in case, because it seems like you've talked about other things she does. Of course I read a lot and don't always remember who wrote what. :)