The Month that WAS

December as always, is the busiest month of the year. And having an eleven-day off from work helped me manage a whole caboodle of affairs in my hands and somehow kept my stress levels to a manageable (if not minimum) stage.

My holidays this year seemed to be the most special thus far. First, my cousin and her family flew in from Canada after 14 years to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary here. And I, until now, is in awe how all five of them were able to fit like sardines in my tiny room, not to mention all of their suitcases and stuff.

Second, organizing their silver wedding affair is not a joke. Though the event was planned one year ahead, things crop up at the last minute and trivialities such as missing misalletes and misplaced wedding rings could turn your head upside down. But after some bloopers and minor glitches, the event went out well. Maybe I could set up my own events organizer office in the future.

Third, spending the holidays in Boracay was a first. Boracay welcomed us with big waves and heavy rains while the sun decided to shy away from the over-crowded beach during the whole course of our stay. Despite all these, this brief Boracay escapade was a blast.

Then there’s the countless Christmas parties and family reunions you have to attend to, staying until the wee hours of the morning and waking up a couple of hours later to attend the traditional simbang gabi. Then add up a number of driving errands for your balikbayan visitors after office hours, all these are squeezed in to your daily December life. At times like these, energizer drinks are my best friends, if not for these wonder drinks, I don’t think I could pull it off or my physical body would have given up long before the Christmas eve strikes.

So there. It’s the first day of work, remnants of the holidays are written all over my face, but things are slowly getting back to normal. Reality is gradually creeping back to my system and before I know it, I’m back to my feet again.

Cheers! 

Of Traditions and Superstitions

Granny was laid to rest today.  Her three-day wake were days of realizations and personal observations that I thought it best to pin down to this spot. Some are amusing, some are confusing, and some are just something that I could write about….so read on and be your own judge. Here goes……

The eldest of the brood must always have the last say.  Talk about power-tripping or seniority issues. They believe that “ang panganay ang dapat masunod.” Hmmm….I’m the eldest daughter, I never realized that I could take advantage of this one, uhm, maybe some other time….at some other place. Lol.

Kiss all the elder’s hand. Regardless if you know ‘em or not. Yeah, if my forehead can just speak or even scream, I would have been deaf by now. I lost count of the elder’s hands that landed on my forehead. And it’s already close to feeling numb. Whew. I never realized that Granny still has a number of surviving kin. And they all flocked the house today to attend the funeral. So just imagine how the youngest managed to go around and make “mano” to those who are older than him? Go figure.

Strictly follow superstitious beliefs as imposed by the elders. A myriad of superstitions, do’s and don’ts that you have to observe. Feels like I am walking on egg shells. And if you ask them the reason behind such belief, don’t expect for a sensible, matter-of-factly reply, rather, they would always answer in unison “basta yan ang sabi ng mga matatanda nuong araw.” So no matter how absurd you think it is, don’t bother asking, because the more you ask, the more baffled and confused you get.

You’d realize how small the world is, afterall. Really. You’d come across people who are connected to you in one way or another. You’d talk about common friends, your friend’s friend, your friend’s friend’s colleague, their colleague, their colleague’s neighbor, their colleague’s neighbor’s relative (huh??)….and so on and so forth…and the link gets longer and longer until the wee hours of the morning.

So there, it’s been one frenzy, emotionally draining week. And I need to sleep now. Four more days to go before the end of the dawn masses.  

Two Funerals and a Wedding

This is quite an odd year for the family.

Two extreme events and a flurry of contrasting emotions in the last quarter of the year. There’s grief over a cousin’s death and euphoria over a wedding.

Then Granny just died today. She did not make it on Christmas day.

Mom has in a way, accepted that Granny wouldn’t last long, because her health deteriorated a few months after her operation. I hope mom’s ok. She was still weeping the last time we talked. And I’m still in an unknown state – a mixture of grief and relief. Relief because Granny is finally free from physical suffering. I hope it’s ok to feel that way, that I even managed to post an entry here.

It’s eight days before Christmas. I have no idea how to celebrate Christmas with death in the family. Imagine A dirge to replace Christmas Carols; words of sympathy and condolences in exchange of holiday greetings….now I think Scrooge has every reason to celebrate.

Farewell my dear Grandma. You may have missed celebrating Christmas with us, but I know that Christmas up there is so much more meaningful than spending it here.

Rest in peace Granny. I’ll miss you.