Like a rose

CEBU, Philippines - Imagine yourself having worked for a good 38 years and are to retire from your job today, what would the rest of your life be? There's sure to be some retirement money coming; would you spend it away traveling or having a great time? It's not a bad plan; after all you've been working all your life and rightly deserves such prize.

But you are 77 years old, a widow for the last 29 years, and not relenting in being a doting mother to nine children, whom you still care so much about even if they're already all grown up and having families of their own. Motherhood is a lifetime vocation, you say; but more for you because you have been mother not only to your own children but also to thousands of grade school pupils who had come under your care as a public school teacher.

Under such personal life conditions, you are likely to stay put, idle your time away by just being there always for the children and grandchildren to run to in times of trouble. Now you can lavish all your time on the expanded family, on the little ones especially.

And retirement time was already many years ago. You had tried to live easy, but the worker that you are wouldn't stay put. The hugs and kisses of the grandchildren would fill only a fraction of your day. You want to make more out of your time.

This is the story of Mrs. Rosa Mangubat, a retired public school teacher of Borbon, north of Cebu. When she was widowed and several of her children were entering college, she had to try every decent money-making endeavor imaginable. She had borrowed from loan sharks, too.

She had engaged in micro businesses: copra buy-and-sell, selling dried ipil-ipil leaves, operating a small sari-sari store etc. She had to fend for the family - all by herself. Life was very hard indeed, and she had no other option but to endure it, for the sake of the children.

Nanay Rosa need not labor as hard these days. The children have finished school, most of them having jobs or small businesses of their own. One child in particular, her eldest, wants their mother to slow down and enjoy life. She's found some good fortune in the U.S. and is willing to provide for their ageing Nanay.

The daughter's concern and generosity are very much appreciated, of course - but the suggestion of slowing down is unheeded. Just last year, Nanay Rosa started making "atchara," a sweet-and-sour vegetable preserve, which has been selling very quickly. Her base customers are neighbors and former co-teachers, but her market has since expanded that a good number of orders now come from city folks.

The vegetable ingredients for her "atchara" Nanay Rosa sources mostly from her garden and those of the neighbors', so they may also earn. But she insists to be allowed to choose, and picks only the best crops. She observes high quality standards, since these are to be used in a food product.

Several neighbors are now helping Nanay Rosa in making the "atchara," since the orders have increased so much. Oftentimes, though, she still ends up doing everything herself, especially "to make sure that the slicing of the ingredients is done right." She even insists in blanching the vegetable ingredients - despite the risk of it being "cooked" and turning mushy - in order to kill what might be tiny pests that remain from the thorough washing. Amazingly, the finished "atchara" is crunchy and tastes so fresh, as if the ingredients have just come straight from the garden.

And it does not all end with a good product. Nanay Rosa has innate marketing wisdom. She has bought a new cell phone (number 09336931722) dedicated for those who might want to discover for themselves why the fuss about "Nanay Rosa's Atchara."

This woman's life is quite a story. It is like a stem speckled with thorns - but with a sweet bloom to cap it. Like a rose. (FREEMAN)