3. Write about your favorite place to eat when you were a child.
Eons ago when I was just a young child of 8, growing up in the Philippines, I had a slight hamburger addiction with Jollibee. I remember hounding my mom almost every single day to pass by my favourite fast food joint just so I could get my fix of a Jollibee burger.
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| Instagram photo by jamie250196 |
Eons ago when I was just a young child of 8, growing up in the Philippines, I had a slight hamburger addiction with Jollibee. I remember hounding my mom almost every single day to pass by my favourite fast food joint just so I could get my fix of a Jollibee burger.
Of course, it did not hurt that Jollibee ran a weekly toy promotion as well. I recall that I had a complete collection of Jollibee pencil toppers, piggy banks, glasses, stationery, you name it. While others played and talked with their Barbie and Ken dolls, I played house with the Jollibee mascots.
Our family did not have a lot of money then for my frivolous obsession, but I managed to amass my collectibles because my mother catered my whim. My earliest recollection was that my mom and I would visit a Jollibee restaurant and buy my hamburger so she could get a toy with it. And since I couldn't really eat a whole lot of burgers after that, my mom would ask some other customers for their food receipts so that she could use it to buy another toy.
I used to feel ashamed that my mom did this. As if having little money or not having enough to buy a hamburger somehow diminished the real meaning behind gathering the toy collectibles. Little did I know how incredibly bratty I acted. Little did I understand how completely selfless my mom was for this sacrifice. Little did I realise that the collectibles were actually signs of the unconditional love of a mother for her child.
Not soon after, we left the Philippines and I got over my fixation. I didn't bring a single collectible with me when I left.
I've visited the Philippines 3 times in the last 20 years and on each visit, I never forget to pass by my favourite childhood fast food chain, Jollibee. I sit there and reminisce my childhood and of the motherly love I was showered with. I miss talking to them pencil toppers sometimes. :-)
Not soon after, we left the Philippines and I got over my fixation. I didn't bring a single collectible with me when I left.
I've visited the Philippines 3 times in the last 20 years and on each visit, I never forget to pass by my favourite childhood fast food chain, Jollibee. I sit there and reminisce my childhood and of the motherly love I was showered with. I miss talking to them pencil toppers sometimes. :-)
But I'm probably just missing my mom too.
***Jollibee is a Philippine multinational chain of fast foods restaurant.
4 comments:
What nice memories! And yes, while you're missing your Mom, the wonderful things she did for you live happily in your mind...and heart!
Thanks for sharing!
I bet that collection is worth big bucks these days! How cool that they stuck around all this time!
Oh! what great memories... it's funny the things we notice when we look back.
Did you really love to eat the burgers, or did you eat them just to get the toys? What a generous, loving mom you had to get you those beloved toys. I know you must miss her terribly.
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