Last night, before I wrote my article, I have a chance to talk with my uncle via video call. It was already past 9 pm and I just got off from work. They told me that my younger sister who ran away with her boyfriend comes home. But she is afraid of my father, so they stayed over at my uncle's place. My elder brother is also there. They are drinking alcohol at my uncle's house together with my other cousins.

They forced my sister to talk to me but she was embarrassed by what she had done and doesn't have the nerve to face me yet. Good thing she knows that I'm mad at her. We have good plans for her and she wasn't even prohibited to have a boyfriend yet she desperately looked for an opportunity to run away with her boyfriend. Such a foolish thing to do, they're truly a perfect pair because they are both cowards. Please forgive my rants again. I just can't help it.

They insisted that she should at least talk to me but I cut them first. I just said, "I'll just waste my saliva and time talking with her. She wouldn't listen to us, after all. Just let them be, we already did our part. It's up to them if they would heed our advice." My uncle suddenly shouted, "That's right!", and everybody laugh. Well, yeah. I don't want to stress myself with her anymore. I did my part already as her elder sister. She wouldn't listen, then that's her fault.

My uncle then steal the phone from my elder brother and waved at me while smiling happily. He asked how was my situation here and when will I go home to the province. After assuring him that I'm fine and they shouldn't be worried about me, he started telling us about his drunk advice. The first piece of advice that he said was,

"Marriage should be thought thoroughly and planned properly. It's not like chewing hot rice and you would just spit out when you can't handle the hotness."

I have heard this a lot of times from my mother and the other elders here in the community since I was a kid. Well, not just me but all of us here. I just don't know anymore on my sister's part. She's not that dumb not to be able to comprehend that simple saying. Well, I guess that saying is true, where it goes, "If you are brain smart, you are weak at heart. And if you are emotionally smart, you have a weak mind." Maybe not all people are like that, but from what I have observed from the people around me, it's likely true. As for myself, maybe I can testify for that. I don't want to say that I'm that intelligent, maybe so-so, and I have so weak dumb, and gullible heart. Just how many times that I have been cheated? I don't want to state the numbers anymore.

Back to my uncle, the second piece of advice that he said was,

"Don't be in a hurry to be in a relationship. There is a right time for that and everything else."

I totally agree with this. I just nod my head as he explains that to us. God has a plan for every one of us. Just have faith and trust the process no matter long it will take. Always ask for guidance in every decision you make, and He will guide your every journey in life.

The third piece of advice that he gave to us was,

"Strive harder and do your best. With this poor life that we had in the countryside, there is no one that we can rely on but ourselves."

There's no one really that I can rely on. Instead of giving me assistance to reach my goals, they gave me problems. Especially my younger sister, she just gave us stress from seeing our parents silently being depressed about our family's current situation. I wouldn't say that I'm a perfect daughter but at least I have learned my lesson long ago. If I can describe myself, I may say that I'm a wayward daughter back then. I left home and started fending for myself because I hate staying with them since I don't feel that I'm a part of the family back then. Just a middle child syndrome but I'm fine now.

I don't have any regrets about what I have done, though. I know it's a bad thing to rebel from your family but it taught me a lot of life lessons. It taught me how to be independent and make my own decisions. Now I'm the one who is supporting them, also known as the "Breadwinner". I'm always sharing those lessons with my siblings. I'm glad that my other siblings have listened to me and started to improve their lives, too. My younger brother is now enrolled in TESDA, for he wants to get a skilled job immediately. My elder brothers are changing, too and the best example of that is our eldest which I have once called "The Turtle".

Our conversation ended when my uncle suddenly dozed off and dropped the phone on the table. It's already late at night, about 10 pm, and I still have to write my article last night, so I said my goodbyes to them, too. It's nice having a heart talk with the elders sometimes because I can learn a lot of life lessons. Just a little problem with my elders, though. I have to talk to them like that only when they are drunk. Because when they're not, they are silent and unapproachable. They will tell you that you are so overdramatic when they are in their right mind.

Ops. Nice to see you here! 😊

Thanks a lot for always checking my articles. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. Stay safe and take care, beautiful people!

From your broke Farm Girl,

@Ayane-chan

See you!