Happy Birthday Vanessa!

This post is dedicated to a very special person, my beautiful friend Vanessa.

She just celebrated her birthday last July 11. The whole world  also celebrates this special day of hers because July 11 is the “World Population Day”, isn’t that nice?

I have mentioned her name many times in my previous posts. She is a friend since high school. She is smart, gorgeous. and beautiful inside and out. Truly, she got beauty and brains. I am sure that those who know about her would agree with me.

We were classmates in high school and many times I have been to her house for lunch. Her father always cook food for them during lunchtime. The first time her father saw me, he said “Nanibeth pareho lang mo ni Vaning mga daut”. As soon as I heard him I thought “Hala kahinawayon sa papa ni Vaning uy”. They came from Cebu and I didn’t know that “daut” word means “payat or skinny” in Cebuano dialect. I thought the meaning was “masakiton” or sickly or ailing to that extent. Many times he asked my “baon” and fed it to their dog because it was already cold. He said I better eat the foods that he cooked because they are warm. I couldn’t remember how many times I had lunch at their house. Vanessa’s family knows me, they are all nice and they are all beautiful, from her parents down to her nieces and nephews. Again, I am sure those people who know her would agree with me.

She is very beautiful, talented and pretty smart. She was a consistent honor student. She was our School’s Bb. Agham during our time and she made it to be the Bb. Agham in the entire province. She was also crowned “Mutya Ng San Francisco”. You wanna bet that? And here is another thing, she sings very well and she dances gracefully too. I couldn’t forget her version in Madonna’s “Crazy For You” song and I don’t know the singer of the song “I Still Believe”. I also remember how she danced “Aricomambo” (did i spell it correctly?) during our high school days.

She studied and finished Nursing in Cebu City but every time she gets back home, we always see each other especially during high school class get together. Honestly, I am kind of bashful at her because she is a candid person and she will speak her mind about anything and about anyone. I was a kind of a wicked girl then. And for me, she was kind of an “angel” without wings and halo. But one thing I like her is that she has a sense of humor. Maybe only few people notice that but yes, she really makes me laugh on her practical jokes.

I always think of her as the luckiest person among my circle of friends and one day I told her about it and she just laughed at me and said “huna-huna ra na nimo beth uy!” She has a loving husband and has a cute and intelligent daughter. She is one of the few people who calls me Nanibeth. I fondly call her Vaning, it doesn't sound "fancy" but I just like to call her that name although many times I attempted to change it to "Van" but I always slip my tongue so I'd rather not to change it at all. Our friendship is unique in the sense that we don’t communicate very often but we still able to update each other’s lives. She has other friends too and sometimes I think that I am not in the same level compared to her other friends. Honestly, I don’t think that I was really a special friend of hers until I discovered it lately.

I admit that I was not a good friend to her in the truest sense of the word because I hurt her many times. I don’t want to elaborate my failures but I admit I did hurt her for a single reason. Maulaw jud ko sa iya. And she knows that. She told me many times that I don’t have reasons to feel that way but I just couldn’t help it. I just couldn’t really help it. Well, every time I make a mistake, most of the time I would think that I am no big deal to her so she should not care anyway or sometimes I think that that she will understand me like what she did many times. Bad me, huh?

I thought she will always be passive to my faults as she does always until one day she burst. I imagine it was like “Kapag puno na ang salop” situation. It really affected me though. I thought I was only dreaming when I read those hurting words. My body was trembling and I feel ashamed for hurting her. Honestly, I still have the same reason why I didn’t contact her when I was in Davao. When my daughter and I were in SM, she told me that Vanessa’s niece is coming to see her and I said, “Oh no! Please don’t let her see me anak because I haven’t contacted her Aunt Vanessa yet! I feel so uncomfortable that time, I was sneezing and coughing every now and then. I didn’t even wear lipstick because it will be wiped away anyway every time I sneezed. I had watery eyes and runny nose. My daughter asked me, “are you feeling so “yagit” ma? And I said, “exactly“! So she just met Vanessa’s niece and a friend in the ground floor of the mall.

And that was it. Until I came back here without sending word to her. She was so upset and I felt so bad and guilty. I discussed it with my husband and he consoled me and said he believed that Vanessa would forgive me in due time because according to him, that's what friends are for. And hubby was right!

I was really down these past few days but when I read Vanessa’s brief but concise reply to my birthday greetings to her, I feel it that she already forgave me. That made my heart feel better. And I said, “Thank you Ning” in my mind.

And I thank the Lord too for making Vanessa’s heart soften in spite of my shortcomings.

Now I am feeling a loooooot better.

Thank you Ning! Happy Returns of the Day! I wish you all the best.