Si Panget.

My brother got married 3 years ago in Australia to his first and only girlfriend. My sister-in-law migrated to Melbourne in the middle of their boyfriend-girlfriend relationship... and yes, she's pinay. A couple of years after she left, they decided to get hitched. One of the few where a long distance relationship actually worked out.

Before my brother left, I had asked again and again if he really wanted to leave. Leave everything behind right? His family, his friends... and his fabulous sister, me. I also asked him if he was sure she was the one? He said 'yes'. It was a painful moment as we sat along Manila bay knowing I was losing my only brother to a country down under. But as we watched the sunset with a cigarette on hand, I was glad he made that choice.

It was a difficult stage in our family's life for one of it's few members to leave. We were only 4; my parents, my older brother and myself. The move was hard on my parents. You could really see it in their faces, especially my mom.

My brother and I are close-- He's an asshole and i'm a real bitch. It is an amiable, normal and healthy brother-sister relationship. I mean who can call you "panget" all the time and find it endearing right? There were instances when he'd be a real jerk. But turns out he just really didn't like my ex's and anything that had to do with them. But like everyone else in the family, he respected my choices by simply letting me do my own thing and leaving me alone... which entailed fighting my own battles.

There are lots of times i'd miss him. After he left, Sunday outings with the family seemed incomplete. I had no one to talk to in the car. I got scolded a lot cause my black sheep of a brother wasn't there to shadow my mistakes! I have no other siblings, and i really wish i did, so I really don't have much of a choice in choosing a favorite brother. (or another sibling for that matter) But everytime we'd talk on the phone or over chat, hearing him say "hoy panget! musta ka na?" brings back good memories, and assures me he's still my brother.

But things change. 3 years after getting married, my brother isn't just going to slip on the role of a son, a brother or a husband, he'll be slipping on probably the most important role of his life...

...becoming a daddy.

I got emotional chatting with him earlier. I was so excited and so happy for them that it felt strange not being able to hug them or touch my sister in law's belly to try and talk to the baby.

"Auntie's gonna spoil you sweetie...I can't wait to meet you...".

Hay. Kuya's going to be daddy panget na.

- Live like there's no tomorrow. Love like it's your last.