Born On The First Of July

One remarkable day in my childhood, I received a special gift from my parents.

The day was July 1st.

It was a resplendent day for a beautiful present. The present was wrapped in swaddling pink clothes.

On it was a magical tag that said, ” sister . “

And it was mine, all mine.

My sister, Mirzi Reina, arrived first, among the many special gifts my parents gave me.

I collectively called them, ” siblings ” .

She was my first ever sibling. And of course, the first one ever, who called me, ” Ate. “ (or big sister )

She had been aptly named Mirzi Reina, perhaps because, she just teemed with royalty.

( MIRZI is a variation from the Persian/ Turkish
word ” Mirza “. It denotes a nobleman’s rank. And when translated in English, meant, ” Royal Prince of the Blood.”

REINA in Spanish, meant, ” Queen ” . )

And nobody else befitted that name. She was just well, eveything ” Mirzi Reina “.

I know for a fact that, I could not go around in this world bearing her name.

It won’t suit me. I will redefine ” nobility. ” I really am more of a Pier Angeli, with flair and flamboyance on the side.

While she, on the other hand, has rightful claim to her name. She is a blue blood through and through.

She is profound not only in appearance but more so in her endeavors.

She is all genuine without any trace of superficiality.

This year on my own birthday, she wrote about me and said,
” It was safe to be real with my sister. ”

While with her I say,
“ You will feel SAFE with my sister. “

In the midst of a crisis, you can count on her to protect you. She will hold the fort as they say.

She’s the tough one who will get going, when the going gets tough.

No matter what the circumstance may be, she will encourage you to go on.

While everyone else might give up on you, SHE WON’T.

My sister Mirzi Reina was born ( and still is ) my exact opposite.

Our physical attributes to begin with, were already very dissimilar.

I was an eight and a half pound new born while she came into this world cute.
( though, you could not say the same with THE brains that came with it. )

She has two degrees and she is a registered nurse. )

She was on the petite side while I seemed to be, even as a child, on the larger side.

She had fair skin like most of my relatives from my mother’s side of the family.

While I was ” morena “, taking from the chocolate brown colored skin of my Dad.

My sister had really chinky eyes while mine was large and round.

As little children, it would always come as a surprise to many, to find out that we were actually siblings.

( My two and a half year old self, on the left, with my then one year old sister, Mirzi, on the right.

It was her first birthday celebration. )

Even our personalities as little children, were like night and day.
( and even until now.)

I was more outspoken, while she chose what to say and who to talk to.

I used to tell my mom, that my sister Mirzi, chose her friends just like her choice of words – precise and concise.

It was always a privelege I guess, to be called her friend,
for there are only a few of them belonging to her elite circle of trust.

( ” piling-pili ang mga kaibigan “, as we say in Filipino. )

Need to mention that I, on the other hand can be friends with anyone.
( google me, let’s be friends.)

She exudes that no-nonsense calm which is a telling impression of her personality.

While I , on the other hand, tend to be melodramatic.

Her personality would match closest to Christiane Amanpour’s, while I may be a Joan Rivers. ( yeah.)

If we were books, we belong to a different classification.

She would be on the mystery/suspense genre
while I might be on the humorous and comic side.

Oh, but not that my sister is unfunny, she can really be hilarious, once you get to know her,
but first, you have to go through the mystery of finding out yourself.

( I salute my brother-in-law, her husband, for having painstakingly gone through the process. )

My life would seem like an open book. ( like, a blog site is never enough )

While hers on the other hand, is classified information and limited edition.

Our choice of books when we were younger, could already tell us apart.

Just by looking at the titles of the books scattered in our living room,
my mom without even asking, already knew whom they belonged to.

In gradeschool, she was already reading ” Lord of The Rings ” while I was reading ” Alice In Wonderland: Through The Looking Glass “.

In highschool, she was into Stephen King’s books while I was hooked with Barbara Cartland’s.

I was an average student with maybe a few ribbons and medals.

She was an achiever with all the medals, awards and trophies since pre- school.

As children, I got medals from public speaking while she got both trophies and medals from either math, science or essay writing contests.

We actually were, more different from each other, rather than alike.

But we were each other’s bests.

We complimented each other’s uniqueness.

In other words, my sister Mirzi, had taught me many things. She had helped me shape my personality.

She had inspired me to achieve, dream and believe. She taught me to toughen up when trials come my way.

She showed me how to set a goal and never be side tracked by trivialities.

She has imparted to me, the importance of being organized.
( especially organizing one’s life. )

She had inspirited me to keep on going whatever the odds.

She had made me believe greatly, that all talents, are indeed gifts from HIM up there.

MY STRENGTH IN CHARACTER TODAY,
I truly owe to my younger sister, Mirzi Reina. She is my hero, someone I look up to.

And I have always been proud, to be called her ” Ate. ”

She takes charge of EVERYTHING while her husband works abroad.

She takes good care for her two children, an eight and a two year old, without any househelps or nannies around.

She manages to tutor her eldest child, who like her self is quite an achiever and a gold medalist since nursery.

She handles the bills, the upkeep of her cozy house, the maintenance of their car and including the care of their dogs.

She is the mother, driver, cook, handyman and nurse.

She is everything to her family, including ours.

And she does not even look the part.
(Or however should a stereotypical harassed parent looked like. )

She runs her household just like she did way back when she was in school, -with flying colors.

Sometimes, when I go through tough times, I think of how my sister go through hers and I try to emulate her.

For years, my sister had been my room mate, my confidante, my counsel, my school mate, my shopping buddy and my dorm mate.

She was sometimes, both friend and foe, antagonist and protagonist,
as well as ally and adversary.

I missed those times. We now each have our own families and priorities.

But I will never forget that she was my first friend, first room mate and first classmate in this big classroom called, LIFE.

Just like anyone else who have sisters, we never spoke as to what lengths, we would we go through for each other.

But more than having our unquantifiable love for one another,
we hold our deepest respect for each other.

Therefore, one thing will always remain,
aside from her being my sister,

she will ALWAYS be my GREATEST FRIEND.

( to my sister Mirzi, thank you for being so generous, in helping our siblings go to school, in giving gifts and sharing your love and time with all of us. )

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SISTER,
MIRZI REINA B. RAÑOJA!

– Posted using BlogPress from Pier Angeli’s mini iPad

Location:Manila, Philippines