Richmond VA to Maryland is only supposed to be a 2 1/2 hours’ drive but it took us about 4. The traffic in the VA/DC/MD triage states slowed us a bit but we were excited to stop at my 1st born.
The day we got to Mikey was the 1st day he took possession of his 1st home, which he just purchased. We were literally the first people that did all the “first activities in his house”. As a parent, there is no greater feeling of being proud of your children’s accomplishments. At 26 years old, although everyone might have their own definition of success, but if I have to look back of what we have accomplished at that age, there is no comparison! We are thankful to God for favoring his dreams and giving him a mind/heart that’s focused and humble. During our visit, we couldn’t help but tease him that we were the homeowners and he just financed it for us. During our visit, the pride that is beaming from us are indescribable. At 26 years old, and as a parent, the best feeling is realizing that one of your children is making choices that are so admirable. He was stationed at Fort Gordon, GA and that stint has completed and now he is extending his service for 5 more years working at the NSA location.
Though both brothers have 17 years gap, Mikey adores his younger brother. If you have to ask Matt what he remembers the most about his older brother … it is his guitar playing and the cats he babysat for a friend that Matt got to pet while we stayed with him in Georgia. As I observe their interactions, I can’t help but have this overwhelming joy of the pairing two different temperaments … both are structured but with different disposition. Mikey is an old soul while Matt is free-spirited. One thing I can tell you however is that …they love their mother’s cooking. When I cook some Filipino cuisines, both boys will devour it like they haven’t been feed — it is either I am a great cook {no pun intended} or that my boys have extra-large stomachs.
Our 2 days stay was very short but it allowed us to have a restful time with one of our child and I even got to multi-task our visit with few of my co-workers I have longed to see for quite a while. As we were planning our route, I was deliberate in reaching out to my Washington DC counterparts and asked them if they want to be a part of our journey … while Virginia/District of Columbia isn’t too far away from where my son’s location, but because they were aware of our cause, they were so gracious to drive an hour away to meet my family.
Inga and Amanda are two of the women in Maritime Administration agency that I’m so fond of and thankful they are my counterparts in DC. In many phone calls I have with Amanda, Matt would always want to be a part of the conversation and would greet her with “Hi Auntie”. When we 1st saw her at Cheesecake Factory, Matt recognized her voice and greeted her like she has known her forever, he motioned for her to sit down next to us and even got to take a pic together. Our short visit lasted 5 hours. Yes, you got it — 5 hours and I am even proud to admit there wasn’t even an alcohol involved. We did not even realized it was time for dinner when we met up for lunch. I am so blessed to be surrounded with people that have become friends and huge supporter of our journey. If you truly value the people you work with, if you find time to nurture the relationship not just as co-workers, it will be easier to blossom to real friendship.
Until the next time Maryland