My amazing, beautiful mom, Ethel

We asked the eldest of our colleague and friend and my “co-Bruha” (witch) Ethel Soliven Timbol, the lovable Bebeth, to write about her mom and here it is

- ANGEL THOUGHTS DEEDEE M. SIYTANGCO

In the days before Mom passed, “my amazing beautiful mom” was a phrase I kept repeating to her as she lay in bed with her eyes closed, while softly kissing her forehead. I kept asking her to open her eyes, so I could see them, and she could see me. Mom said she was tired. So I just stayed there, leaning my head on her shoulder like I always did.

Ethel Soliven Timbol passed away in her sleep in the early morning of Sept. 6, the day before my birthday. To think, I was just telling her how she and I would celebrate together this year, the hospital notwithstanding. She clearly had other plans, and it did not include me spending my birthday in that hospital room.

It had been a tough three weeks in the hospital leading up to that day. She tried put on a brave face, as her doctors told her she would have to undergo dialysis—one of her greatest fears—to help her get better. She asked me to let her go home, and that she was negotiating with God to hear her prayers. She had grown tired of the endless tests, of the pain, and the sense of helplessness. As a daughter, that was difficult to hear, more so to accept. I prayed with her, asking for God’s grace.

Her prayers were answered when God finally called her back to His heavenly home. It wasn’t the outcome I was praying for, but I knew it was what she wanted—to be free of pain, to be free of illness, to finally be free.

It’s taken me a while to write about her, as Mom was my constant companion, sparring partner, travel buddy, and best friend. It will take some getting used to not seeing her first thing in the morning, and having her around to bother with my endless questions. Or to ask what we started calling “her favorite question”— “What would you like to eat today?”