I'm baaack!!!
I actually stayed a week longer due to some lucky twist of fate. I was supposed to come back to SG on June 21 but Papa had to be back in the Phils. on the 24th for a job he had to do in Mt. Apo. So I stayed and waited for him and we both flew back last night. I couldn't be happier for that extra week.
It was a bit strange being back. For the first couple of hours, I felt like I was trying to find my way around... feeling for switches where I thought they would be only to realize they'd be there, yes... if I was in my house in Antipolo; unpacking the luggages and not knowing what went where; trying to make the wrong key fit to lock the wrong doors. I'm happy to be back cause I could take care of Papa again. I was so worried about him being all by himself here. Oh don't get me wrong. He did a pretty good job with the flat. It was neat enough and smelled nice even after a week of being locked up. Not stuffy at all. He even remembered to empty the garbage. But you know how it is with men and women. Men would be happy enough with potato wedges or french fries. Women would rather have hash browns or something whenever possible. For some reason, I wasn't instantly lured to the internet the minute I saw the pc. I wanted to put things in order first. Either that, or I was feeling a bit despondent being away from my family again and didn't want to deal with the memories just yet.
There's so much to tell and I don't know where to start or how to. A lot of the things that happened are so laden with emotions and family stuff that telling you about it would entail digging up a lot of history. And because these vacations have become special interludes I keep looking forward to in my current life, I wouldn't want to tell my stories just for the heck of it. So maybe I will write about it now, or in the coming days or weeks, or maybe I won't. I will when I do. There really is no rush anyway, is there?
One of the main reasons this vacation is so special is because it is the 50th wedding anniversary of my Mom and Dad. My Dad is 75 years old and my Mom is 72. This means that they were 25 and 22 when they got married. Pretty okay, not too young, not too old. My Dad was still in law school when they got married and my Mom was a struggling teacher.
They grew up in the same town... Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija. My Dad's family stayed there until my grandparents died. My Mom's family moved, first to Rosales, Pangasinan and then to Carmen. Dad was Uncle Upring's friend. Uncle Upring is Mom's eldest brother. He's also a lawyer although I'm not sure if Dad and he went to the same law school. My Mom just finished college and wanted to go to Manila to work but Papang wouldn't let her. Mom had her dreams though, so with all the guts she could muster, she ran away and took a teaching post a friend was offering her in Iba, Zambales. My Dad and Mom were never sweethearts before they got married. To her, Dad was just her brother's good friend and to him, Mom was just his good friend's sister. But for some reason, when he learned that she has ran away, Dad took it upon himself to go searching for Mom. And because he wasn't sure his search would turn up with anything, he didn't let anybody in on his plan.
With luck, Dad found Mom and was able to persuade her to come back with him. When they reached home though, Mom's brothers thought the two had eloped and beat the hell out of Dad. Oh, I might have forgotten to mention... my Mom happens to have 5 brothers. No, things got cleared up so there was no need to force them to get married. Things just sort of unfolded by themselves so that on June 1, 1953, Adoracion Ysmael Lecitona was wedded to Crisologo Villeros Ramirez.
50 years later, I walked into my family home to greet my parents on their golden wedding anniversary. I didn't send word to anybody save my youngest sister who agreed to conspire with me. My Mom screamed in surprise and cried non-stop as she hugged me and peppered me with kisses. And I prayed really hard that she wouldn't get a heart attack from my sudden appearance.
I actually stayed a week longer due to some lucky twist of fate. I was supposed to come back to SG on June 21 but Papa had to be back in the Phils. on the 24th for a job he had to do in Mt. Apo. So I stayed and waited for him and we both flew back last night. I couldn't be happier for that extra week.
It was a bit strange being back. For the first couple of hours, I felt like I was trying to find my way around... feeling for switches where I thought they would be only to realize they'd be there, yes... if I was in my house in Antipolo; unpacking the luggages and not knowing what went where; trying to make the wrong key fit to lock the wrong doors. I'm happy to be back cause I could take care of Papa again. I was so worried about him being all by himself here. Oh don't get me wrong. He did a pretty good job with the flat. It was neat enough and smelled nice even after a week of being locked up. Not stuffy at all. He even remembered to empty the garbage. But you know how it is with men and women. Men would be happy enough with potato wedges or french fries. Women would rather have hash browns or something whenever possible. For some reason, I wasn't instantly lured to the internet the minute I saw the pc. I wanted to put things in order first. Either that, or I was feeling a bit despondent being away from my family again and didn't want to deal with the memories just yet.
There's so much to tell and I don't know where to start or how to. A lot of the things that happened are so laden with emotions and family stuff that telling you about it would entail digging up a lot of history. And because these vacations have become special interludes I keep looking forward to in my current life, I wouldn't want to tell my stories just for the heck of it. So maybe I will write about it now, or in the coming days or weeks, or maybe I won't. I will when I do. There really is no rush anyway, is there?
One of the main reasons this vacation is so special is because it is the 50th wedding anniversary of my Mom and Dad. My Dad is 75 years old and my Mom is 72. This means that they were 25 and 22 when they got married. Pretty okay, not too young, not too old. My Dad was still in law school when they got married and my Mom was a struggling teacher.
They grew up in the same town... Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija. My Dad's family stayed there until my grandparents died. My Mom's family moved, first to Rosales, Pangasinan and then to Carmen. Dad was Uncle Upring's friend. Uncle Upring is Mom's eldest brother. He's also a lawyer although I'm not sure if Dad and he went to the same law school. My Mom just finished college and wanted to go to Manila to work but Papang wouldn't let her. Mom had her dreams though, so with all the guts she could muster, she ran away and took a teaching post a friend was offering her in Iba, Zambales. My Dad and Mom were never sweethearts before they got married. To her, Dad was just her brother's good friend and to him, Mom was just his good friend's sister. But for some reason, when he learned that she has ran away, Dad took it upon himself to go searching for Mom. And because he wasn't sure his search would turn up with anything, he didn't let anybody in on his plan.
With luck, Dad found Mom and was able to persuade her to come back with him. When they reached home though, Mom's brothers thought the two had eloped and beat the hell out of Dad. Oh, I might have forgotten to mention... my Mom happens to have 5 brothers. No, things got cleared up so there was no need to force them to get married. Things just sort of unfolded by themselves so that on June 1, 1953, Adoracion Ysmael Lecitona was wedded to Crisologo Villeros Ramirez.
50 years later, I walked into my family home to greet my parents on their golden wedding anniversary. I didn't send word to anybody save my youngest sister who agreed to conspire with me. My Mom screamed in surprise and cried non-stop as she hugged me and peppered me with kisses. And I prayed really hard that she wouldn't get a heart attack from my sudden appearance.
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