Meet BACH

The date was August 13, 2005.

I received the good news that our youngest sibling, our only brother, is finally a father. It was not a surprise, much more a pleasant one. But the moment our family was told that our brother's girlfriend is pregnant, we embraced the reality that, yes, a new family member is coming & for the first time, he will be carrying our family name (after 3 sons by our eldest sister).

The moment I laid eyes on this cutie, little boy at the Chinese General Hospital where her mama had to endure a cut, the cesarian section way, thoughts rushed in to 25 years ago, when our brother was just a baby himself. Dear God, my mind said, bless this young family.

His parents named him Bach (pronounced BAK). They say they got this unusual name from Johann Sebastian Bach, the classisist. We insisted that at least a Justin, a Joshua or even a Johann be affixed before the Bach (considering that Bach's parents' name both start with a J & our 3 other nephews' names also start with a J). But our brother was adamant. He prevailed. He's the father after all. And he's no longer a boy.

When our senior citizen aunt heard of Bach's name, she exclaimed: "Ay sus, kadami ng pangalan, bakit talud-tod pa!" (talud-tod is the waray term for likod; likod is the tagalog word for back, right?).

Barely 2 days before Bach turned 7 monhs, he was christened at the Sto. Domingo Church & we, the adults, feasted on an eat-all-u-can buffet in Kamay Kainan, West Avenue. He may not have parted with the yummy treat, but it is with hope that he will grow knowing and feeling that he is much loved by all of us.

Looking at Bach now, I can say that indeed, the best things in life are free.