I was a junior in high school and sick at home when I told my mom that I would like to see her and daddy. I knew my dad would come home for lunch. My mom had no idea what I wanted to talk about. I was the outgoing type who, usually after completing my chores in the morning, washing or ironing clothes, would go outside to climb trees and eat fruits, or swim behind Rainbow Falls. I said, “Now that I am almost graduating, I want to become a religious sister.”

I remember that whenever any one of us seven children did something wrong at home, we would all hide and not say anything. My parents would ask, “Who broke this glass?” But, because we were ashamed, we couldn’t look straight at them. We were afraid to admit our fault because our pride was hurt that we did something wrong. Because of this, there were times when we turned our hearts away from our mom and dad feeling far away from them. Little did we understand that they still loved us.