Growing up, I fell in love with food. I've garnered some favorites throughout the years such as fried chicken, dinuguan, eggs, and sinigang na baboy. Food gives me energy and nutrients that I need to live. It quite literally has been with me through all my experiences in life; every bite, every memory, every comfort.
But if I dig deeper, I realize it&rsquo;s not just food I love. It&rsquo;s her food.
My mom's cooking is the flavor of my childhood, but it is also the flavor of the person I have become. It&rsquo;s the smell that would float through the house and pull me out of my room when I was in a studying trance. It&rsquo;s the sound of garlic sizzling in the pan that meant something good was coming despite all the bad that was occurring in my life that week.
Her food didn&rsquo;t just feed me; it taught me what love and care taste like.
Unfortunately, I didn&rsquo;t always say thank you and I didn't always acknowledge her effort. But now, I understand. Her cooking wasn&rsquo;t just about the ingredients and exact measurements. It was her way of saying &ldquo;I love you&rdquo; without words. My mom wakes up at the crack of dawn and goes home just after the sun sets because she has a full-time job. Even when she had a hundred other things to do, somehow, there was always a warm meal and unsurprisingly, it always tasted like home.
These days, no matter how many restaurants I try or dishes I discover, nothing ever quite compares to my mom's cooking. When my mom makes it, it&rsquo;s not just food. Her food holds a thousand different memories that transcend generations and a plethora of caring messages.
This Mother&rsquo;s Day, I just want to say thank you. For the food, absolutely. But more importantly, for the love behind it.
Happy Mother&rsquo;s Day, Mommy. Nothing beats your cooking and nothing beats having you.