In March 30, 1948, a fairly healthy boy joined the family. He was named Aloysuis Pacelli named after St. Aloysuis and Pope Piux XII (Eugenio Pacelli). We were growing up in numbers, so we had to double our efforts to survive. Our tiny nipa house was enlarged to accommodate the young active children.
Our salaries of P120 per month were not enough, so we decided to go back to school for professional advancement and possible promotion. Papa volunteered first to pursue a Master of Arts degree in Education. He worked as a teacher during the day, and he studied in the evenings and during the summer.
A bouncing, healthy and ever smiling baby girl was added to our family on November 13, 1951. Papa selected an appropriate name: Grazia Athena, for the hundreds of graces and blessings we were endowed by our Lord and Mama Mary, and Athena, the Goddess of wisdom in the ancient Greek mythology. We shall give her nickname as Eng-Eng – the beautiful sound of the violin.
She was quiet and gentle in her young days, who was never irritated nor got angry when his elder brothers and sisters teased her beyond limit. Eng-Eng was the subject of the family’s loving and adoring care. Every one loves to join her in group work. She excelled in both academic and physical activities. Girl scouting was her choice of school activity in the grade school.
Papa wanted to have a Beato Junior. He dreamed that someone must do good research studies in human resources. One more family member was added on April 17, 1954. The family gave a loud applause of welcome to this healthy, loud crying boy. Papa came home from his official work in the Central Office of the Department of Education. He was so happy that he began to mark a significant name to this baby boy.
He named him Beato Amiel Vinci, fondly remembering his namesake Beato (blessed), Amiel (from Swiss philosopher Henri-Frederic Amiel) and Vinci for his respect and adoration to world known artist, writer and academician Leonardo da Vinci.
He has such as long name, so we called him BAVI, his initials. These four big capital letters represented our family unity and our inner appreciation for a very learned man.
Bavi, achieved our mutual dream to have a son, with an intense desire for academic achievement. The family scholar, he excelled in math and physics at the Philippine Science High School, graduated as cum laude at the University of the Philippines, and was a scholar at the Asian Institute of Management and graduated with distinction. Bavi contributed his share in our family’s dream “To Move Forward”.
Seven years later, a latecomer “barged” into a family of six. Our youngest son was born early morning of February 4, 1961. Papa gave him a very significant and meaningful name – John Guidon Macciri after Pope John XXIII; Guidon – as the flag bearer, referring to his role in the incoming old age to both parents, guiding our faltering physical selves, and Macciri from the two old grandfathers Macario (dela Cruz) and Ciriaco (Icamina).
As our family grew in members, Papa and I slowly earned academic units in our serious search for improvement of our two-year college training at the Philippine Normal School. All extra time was focused on attending evening classes and other related training sponsored by educational institute.
Zita has left for the United States through her affiliations with the Girl Scout organization. She would later graduate from the Stout State College in Wisconsin, and Purdue University in Indiana.
In 1962, Papa was awarded a Colombo Plan scholarship to study in England. He finished his program in Adult Education at the Manchester University in 1963.
I enrolled in different summer classes while in Manila where three of my children were studying. All of us stayed in our rented rooms near the University Belt area: Mapua Institute of Technology for Gualterio, Centro Escolar University for Aida Celeste, Colegio de San Juan De Letran for Aloysius.
When Papa came back from England, worked at the Department of Education central office during the day, and was part time instructor at the University of the East on evenings. Meanwhile, I attended classes under Mrs. Felisa Lardizabal in the same University. Papa would continue to finish his Doctor of Education studies at Centro Escolar University.