Mothering Heights 15
The Truth, and Nothing But
By Janet Villa There is a term for an answer too late in the coming. The French call it l’esprit de l’escalier—literally, “stairwell wit”—a comeback given too late, a retort thought of only after the moment had ended, perhaps when one is on the stairs, leaving the event that required the rejoinder. A few Tuesdays […]
Reasons for Breathing
Janet B. Villa I learn much from other mothers. I learn love and unselfishness from my sister, Naomi. I learn about creativity from Rhea. I learn about wellness from Richelle. I learn about defying the odds from Rachel Santos. I visited Rachel in 2006 to interview her for Working Mom. She talked almost non-stop, with […]
Like Magic
By Janet B. Villa My mother, a retired public school teacher, thinks of life in simple terms. Feeding and caring for us has been her crusade and her redemption. Many years ago, while I was rushing work while vacationing in Cebu, she watched me feed a page into the fax machine. She was entranced. […]
The Broken Road
MOTHERING HEIGHTS Janet Villa My husband and I would like to share our story, which was published in a lovely anthology, Against All Odds: Coincidence of Miracle? Volume IV, produced by Flor Gozon Tarriela and Butch Jimenez. It was one of the hardest stories I had to write, not because I didn’t know how to […]
A Mother’s Heart
Two years ago, Good Housekeeping asked me to submit an essay for its Mother’s Day issue, only 700 words. I was a mother only a few weeks old. The long wait for a child—16 years—had led us to Anna, whom my husband calls “God’s Best.” I wrestled with the essay, perhaps the hardest I ever […]
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