A balikbayan box has multiple meanings. It’ll all just depend on who you ask!
For Mommy Rosie, it’s a way to say “I love you, I care about you, and I think about you.” The items in the box symbolize the thoughtfulness of its sender and how even the smallest of keychains, the gummy worms, and a pack of beef jerky paints a picture of what-or who- Mommy Rosie was thinking of. For her, the box itself is a reminder that she is a giver at heart.
For her 3 children, the balikbayan box is a ray of light, sent from above during dark times. As Mari looks in her food box and sees that her daughter’s favorite cereal is finished, she finds solace knowing that in a couple of weeks, help arrives in the form of a Reese’s Cereal Box. On a different note, Balot has been having complaints that her undergarments are old and tattered. Just as she was about to spend big for a package of new ones, here comes her mother saving the day once again as she listens to the plight of everyone she loves. Just as she listens to her son Mel, when she finds out that he has run out of chocolates to eat when times call for a sweet treat. A balikbayan box is a source of help and relief for her children.
For her grandkids, a balikbayan box is always a mystery box filled with fun surprises like new soaps that Miguel won’t use, new cottonbuds that RJ can be afraid of, new pants for Pope to wear for his dates, a box of cereal for Iyanna to eat in 2 sittings, new socks for Kai who’ll lose the right sock after a week, shirts that Kris will wear once and then give to Kai or Iyanna, and shoes for Georgina because she’s the smallest and her shoes are so small that they’re cheap. Balikbayan boxes are always so exciting for her grandkids because of how magical and foreign they feel, even though the pancake mix tastes like soap!
A balikbayan box is a novel filled with pages that are full of thoughtful stories from an author who loves sharing pieces of who she is to those she loves.