An Ascent of a Martial Law Baby

It's my sister Lynn's 18th birthday today. If today was 1990 though, that age would have been most accurate (smile). She's a martial law baby. A rather state-of-mind than a clear category for babies born that year.

I remember when we were kids, I used to braid her hair and bombard it with clips in the hope of making it look sophisticated. But while walking in the fields toward our grandmother's house, the hair ended up looking more like a toupee than a hairstyle really. She complained, of course, but innocously. Very much a contradiction now that she's older! (Oh dear me).

She never liked household chores. She had always hated washing dishes or cook simple fried egg. Therefore, I ended up tending to her supposed house assignments because she would just pretend to be a handicap!  After I voiced out my complain though, she hastened to do some work. Surprisingly, without grumbling. But you could hear some loud clanks getting louder and a little bit more then gone. That meant her job was finished.

She liked playing with other kids but not much into dwelling on it. It's not something she looked forward to doing everyday. She was capable of expressing herself without emotions while I cried a river with nose running like monsoon.

She excelled in Mathematics. I guess all her young life. She received medals in elementary levels for being constant in carrying weapons of mathematical instruction! (I can't even finish a simple algebraic expression without biting my nails).

Between childhood and adolescent years, Lynn seemed to have borne the struggles of my parents in raising the family. She learned early that somebody had to do something. That came late for me unfortunately. Immediately after high school, she joined a transport company for an administrative job. That was rare for someone who just graduated from senior high. She did odd jobs in between--contended with her own personal dreams in favor of her family and sufferred the punishment of being young and responsible without enjoying its advantages.

She has been admirable in that respect. She has always honored our parents. Out of the generosity of her heart comes the inherent attitude to help and reach out to people in need. Perhaps because she was once poor and she knew how it is to suffer lack.

I can go on talking about what had happened in my family the years that followed but I leave that part with me. At that time, the road ahead was long and steep for everyone else in the family but far from deplorable. The future never burned ever brighter as we see each year past us. And it all started from a martial law baby who desired to alleviate her family from poverty.