Getting to Know the Other 62 Years

Flew to Ozamis for my grandmother's 85th birthday celebration. :) 

We've been wanting to have a celebration for awhile now since her recovery from cancer, 2 years ago. Every year has always been a blessing, the realization that life is precious 

just makes it that much more important to celebrate it.

 

If i have the privilege of living to my golden years, i hope i touch atleast half as much lives, or have at least half as much people love me the way my grandmother has. :)

The Preparations.

1. making lola's give aways on the day itself, a lil passion me and my mother share; creating these little tiny random gifts. We started with 100 pcs, but by the time we got to ozamis, there were only 79 left. They were super fragile.

2. my grandmother and one of her apo-in-laws (to the nth degree) about to start make-up.

3. With my aunt who has been my grandmother's caretaker all these years.

 

 

lola's grand entrance :D as usual, mummy forgot to tell the celebrant it was time to enter (just like in my debut) sooooooo.... we almost missed our entrance! hahaha :) but it worked out.

 

For my part, I presented the AVP to lola, which to me was an amazing experience because I was exposed to the other 62 years of her life, it added to the 23 years that I've known and loved her -- the entire night was amazing because you think you know your grandmother, wait til you hear what she'd done in her teen years, etc. :)

 

   

the people who served during the entire party were all somehow "touched" by lola,

as her student, niece/nephew, friend, or some random stranger who had heard about her.

 

one of my lola's best friends who had some words of advice for me on love, boys and families. :)

  

what was particularly fun was that I got to ballroom again. <3

people don't ballroom as much anymore. :(

 

and so did my daddy and baby sis. :))

 

growing up, i felt that i had such a small family... and i never really had cousins... i was always jealous of the big families who had cousins their age during bdays, new years, christmas, random celebrations. But it was nice to realize that despite that, i had a HUGE family pala :) and there was nothing but love that night. :)

   

the relationship between my dad and his mother-in-law is one of the best in-law relationships I have ever seen. ♥ they are absolutely amazing. i teared up during my lola's speech when she said "my children", and other people reacted "diba only child si bebe (my mum)?" and my lola replied "si Toto (my dad) is my son." :)

XOXO,

Joanie