To Be Home

I'm back! :)

I apologize for that depressing last post, I guess we all have our moments.
Now, I have so much to share -- after a long hiatus from non-essential internet activities. <3

I've finished YL6, I experienced strange things or strange people, I attended a silent retreat (yes, complete silence), I've re-acquainted myself with some friends, my God and I've gathered a whole lot of realizations. But for this post, I simply wanted to share that I'm HOME <3

It was an impromtu decision. :)
But there was much thought put into it.
Many little reasons -- a little bit of running away (a whole different story).

But the biggest reason, was for my family. <3
and to be able to celebrate the Holy Week traditions with them.

My Grandmother.

It's amazing being able to be close to her and attend to her -- from little tummy aches to her pain from her recent operation. Somehow, I know it makes a difference to her that we're home. :)

My Dad.

He was so excited to hear that we were coming home, that he left work to go palengke and buy us our favorites. <3 He prepared aninikad, shrimps and tinolang isda for our welcome dinner.

My Mum

Ofcourse, my mother did what she knew best, help us with studying -- by being our very own barista. She transformed the dining table into our very own starbucks and makes us coffee while we study.

It's good to be home. <3

XOXO,

Joanie

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

Beach House

Mum absolutely loves RANDOM beach trips -- I emphasized random for a reason.

For someone who gets offers to the bestest resorts from pharmaceutical companies, 

membership to the prettiest beach hotels, and access to Cebu's world-class luxury beaches, 

you'd think she'd be picky with beaches.

But she's not. haha She loves spontaneous beach trips to more unknown beaches.

 

So when we received an invitation to sleep over at a family friend's beach house 

in Clarin (thats a town near Ozamis, I think), 

she got in my uncle's car and drove (an hour or two?) to check the place out.

And it was beautiful.

Goofing off with my baby sister -- who looks more and more like me everyday -- twins!

Karaoke with Daddy -- who swears he's the karaoke king (but only sings one song).

The view was serene as the sun set, but the night brought a thunderstorm to the area.

You could practically see the lightning hit the water from a distance. 

Scary.

  

I love being pleasantly surprised by the world. :)
I did not expect this when we were on the way there.
I hope everybody else is enjoying their break -- and mixing in some work in between.
(hi PH groupmates, SCOPE bosses, HIMA groupmates!)


XOXO,
Joanie

Save the Albums

My grandfather used to have a way with words -- he liked saying the simplest things and letting the audience deduce all sorts of philosophical understanding and deeper meaning from it. 

One life lesson I remember from him was his answer to the commonplace small-talk question, 

"If your house was burning, what would you save?" 

He said "the albums."

 

That was at the back of my mind when I started exploring my grandparent's old house here in Annex, Ozamis City. I found so much precious items -- an old record player, some clean records, collector's item shizms -- but nothing was as precious as when I saw old pics of mummy, of lolo, of lola, they brought me to a time when my mother wasn't the epitome of adulthood that she is now, 

but a quirky little girl.

I also understood my grandmother and her emphasis on taking care of myself and something she used to say "Always be presentable, because even if they deny it, their first judgement of you will come from how you look, then they'll get to know you for who you are." She was beautiful.

The past is never something you completely let go of, 

because they reveal why you are the way you are.

My mum saw me taking pictures of the old pics and added her own bit of wisdom

"If you lose everything else, you can work for it again -- the money, the TV, the house --

but the pictures you don't get back. 

You should know what granny (my great-grandmother) looked like."

I found littol joanie too!!