Moving On

Mama Mary and baby Jesus found new homes. Winter coats and flannel robes will keep someone else warm this year. Fancy jewelries and sequined dresses must go as well. All the other stuff went into 7 boxes.

My mother had finally closed up her home in America. 25 years stuffed into 7 boxes.
Comfort wear: Cotton blouses, denim pants, bedroom slippers and walking shoes.
Serving platters, measuring spoons, mixer and blender plus 4 kitchen knives. They will continue to see more parties and feed more guests. Dated pictures, greeting cards, letters from far away places and tiny notes to self will soon find warmer storage space.



Watching her tenderly wrap a fragile vase or pause to take in again the words from a thank you note was cause for joy but at the same time made her shed a tear at the remembrance. I kept my distance as my mother meticulously went through each and every personal article. Only she could decide what to pass on or put in the boxes. I could not and would not deny her that.



In between the sorting and the packing, there were phone calls made to relatives and friends. And those who lived near-by happily dropped in for a chat and to accept gratefully some personal items.

“Yes, I am leaving,” my mother tells them all, “ but if God is merciful, I will be back soon. This time more of a visitor than a resident.”

It is heartening to hear friends and family vie to host her stay when she does visit.

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Moving on brings mixed feelings. Sadness at putting closure to a life that had many memories and happiness at the thought of starting fresh. But such is life--- a continuing process of moving on.
One lesson learned from being with my mother those two weeks: travel light. A second lesson learned from my mother, is the following recipe:

USA Styled Sotanghon Pancit

250 grams of sotanghon noodle, soaked in water
1 c cubed cooked ham
1 c sliced breast of left-over rotisserie chicken
½ c sliced boiled pork (optional)
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
½ c chicaro (peas)
1 sliced small carrot
1 1/2 c sliced chinese cabbage (pechay) or cabbage
1-2 green jalapeno (sili espada or sili mahaba)—maybe omitted
Soy Sauce, salt and pepper—to taste
4-5 c Chicken stock (may come from or a mixture of boiling the left over bones of the rotisserie chicken; canned stock; or made from 2 knorr chicken cubes dissolved in 4 cups of water)—my mother prefers the canned chicken stock

Saute the garlic and onion in a deep pot. Drop in the cubed ham and the sliced chicken and pork if using. After a quick stir, add the stock. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add the carrots and the peas and simmer for 1-2 minutes—do not overcook. Add the jalapeno pepper/s. Season with soyu sauce, salt and pepper. Please note to add more of the seasoning as adding the noodles tend to make the dish bland. Add the drained noodles and mix. If the mixture looks dry, add more stock. Lastly, add the Chinese cabbage and close the lid of the pot to wilt the leaves. Season to taste with more soy sauce. Before serving, remove the jalapeno. Serve with more soy sauce and lemon on the side.

Note:
Pancit is a very personal dish —so you can add other ingredients of choice: shelled shrimps, sliced mushrooms, kinchay and the like.
If you want more noodles than meat, you can go ahead and increase amount of noodles.
To facilitate easy serving, you might want to cut the noodles as they soaked to reasonable length.
You could also boil some fresh chicken breast instead of using left over chicken.
Noodles will mop up the liquid, so be sure to have lots of chicken stock to add as you cook this dish.



That’s it, Pancit : )