Thursday, September 17, 2015

The Year of Living Dangerously

This is supposed to be a journal meant for family and close friends to read. There are things I had to tell them personally but time and distance constraints prevent me to regularly connect with them. In recent months, however, even "blogging" or journalling has become a luxury to me owing to the many demands of domestic life. Whoever said domesticated women enjoy the luxury of time does not know whereof he speaks.

Late last year, 2014, I resolved to update on this personal journal. I felt I really needed to write about what is happening in my life. But 2015 came with a really big, big bang. January this year ushered in very stressful, heartbreaking and mind boggling events on the homefront. I missed all the activities relative to the visit of Pope Francis in January. I would have loved to soak in the rain while hearing his masses but I did not have the strength to leave the house then. My body was weak and more so was my spirit. I was not surprised when I did end up in the hospital again by early March. I hoped things will settle down sooner but they stretched into months and now it looks like the last quarter of the year is not spared. Really, when it rains, it pours.

Despite the turmoil, I robotically went through life's many phases as though everything was fine. I did some cleaning up, though, like putting up a new Facebook account where I gathered only my most treasured friends, going only to gatherings where the people I like goes and deleting some people totally from my social life. I thought they are of no significance and merely add insults to my injuries. My children were very sensitive to my plight during the difficult early months of 2015. Timmy booked the two of us on a flight to HK in early February. I totally enjoyed our bonding which was made even more remarkable by a side trip to Macau. In those SARs, we experienced how the Chinese celebrate their New Year. I found out our celebration in the Philippines is far more joyful and merry.

Also in February, Ding and I went to Naga City to attend the interment of my May Noming, the youngest sister of my father. She was one of those who raised me and my brother and sister when my mother died in 1959. Our HK booking coincided with her wake so it was a good thing we made it to the burial a few days after we arrived from HK. I am glad I was able to visit May Noming in February of 2014 while she was in the hospital. She was up and about then but she had to ask my cousin who I was. The years made us strangers to each other,

In February also, my good friend and compadre Lito de Dios married his long time partner in a church ceremony. Such a joyful ocassion for all of us friends. The bride was so radiant and the affair was so intimate. The couple was gifted with a family trip to Singapore by our good friend Hermie. We were supposed to go with them but conflicts in schedule did not permit us. I thought it was a good thing that we were not able to come since it was a special gift and with us tagging along, it would have lost its significance. However, we began planning for a group tour somewhere in SEA and we all decided on a HK-Macau trip.

On June 26, 2015, we all packed our bags and enplaned for HK. We arrived around 8am at the HKIA after which we took a public bus to TST. We were all envious of the very efficient mass transport system in HK. We stayed in TST the whole day, mostly in the biggest malls in Canton Rd. Good thing there is a luggage counter in the ferry terminal inside a mall where we left our bags so we can explore the city a little further. Or so I thought. Among the jondas, I was the only one who kept on walking. The rest have to stop and sit awhile whenever they see a bench or a shaded area. I would have loved to show them around since I am already familiar with the tourist areas in HK. So at 5:30pm, we all boarded a ferry that will take us to Macau. We arrived in an hour and took a free bus ride to The Venetian. A kababayan in Plaridel who works in the hotel helped us get a very huge discount for our stay. The Venetian was awesome. I would like to go back and stay there if only because it was such a vibrant hotel owing to the many amenities it offers. As in our past trips together, the friendship among the jondas was sealed much more tightly than ever.

It is now September and usually I get excited during this, my birth month. I do not feel such excitement anymore. The big bang of January 2015 still persists to date. I can only wish and pray for it to stop. I am hoping that when my son Poy comes home for a short vacation in December, all will be well. He deserves, as Tim and Nad do, a happy, peaceful and stress-free bonding time with the family. I hope. I wish. I pray.