Chapter 8: High School Days

“First day of high!”, I told Junior while we were waiting for Carlos to fetch the car that will drive us and the children to our own places, at his first day of his high school. I had told this to Catherine before, under the same circumstances. Both children were very excited to see new places, new people, and new beginnings. But unfortunately, Carlos planned to drop me off to my place first before the children; Carlos can really see the children’s excitement all along the trip.

I can see that Catherine can handle the stress in studying high school, but Junior can’t; he always tired and exhausted each and every school day. He even hates P.E., where Catherine enjoys it.

Well, high school calls for hard times. Every other week, either Catherine or Junior will be scolded by either me or Carlos, and scolding children is not fun. At one point, Carlos gushed out all of his anger while we were eating on a restaurant on a Sunday.

Tragedy then struck before the school year ends. Carlos’ mother had suffered a stroke, and it was too late when she was brought to the hospital. We can’t pay her a visit as it was just February, and we will have to travel all the way to Pagudpud to visit her. However, Carlos’ father and brother contacted us; they said that she will be fine.

Then came my mother, who had collapsed after attending mass with my father, and our family. Fortunately, we were there during the incident, or else, my father will have a harder time bringing her to the hospital. Doctors say that her collapse was brought by her hypertension, given the crowded situation of the church.

During the high school years of the children, I’ve been noticing that our relationships have been colder. We were not as close as we used to be. Well, high school calls for hard times.

When Catherine had graduated from high school after four years, we already had distant relationships with each other; it was like our family is on the brink of tearing apart. I continuously told myself then that at least, we’re still a family. But that wasn’t enough.

It was summer time, the time after Catherine graduated. Our family was so cold and so distant, Carlos suddenly got mad and threatened to leave the house if nothing happens. I was crying, and the children quite don’t care. And this incident ended in a talk lasting a few hours. In that talk, me and Carlos used that as our last hope in bringing back our family to life.

And it did. Little by little, we started bonding together, and the fights were much less than before. But it was due time that Carlos’ mother met her fate. Fortunately, it was still summer time then, or else Carlos will be left so disoriented at the situation. We also stayed at Pagudpud for a while, and we attended her funeral, with the whole family.

It was just time for Catherine to go college after we went home from Pagudpud. She chose to study civil engineering, following my father’s footsteps. Luckily, he’s still alive, and he can help Catherine in her studies.

Just weeks before Junior’s graduation, my father suffered a massive stroke, and it ultimately led to his death. He was in the hospital during Junior’s graduation, and my mother was so devastated after his death. They had married for more than 45 years, and it didn’t took long before my mother followed him.

A month later, we found my mother dead in her sleep at a visit in her house.