78 and Counting

The Special Morning

The morning sun’s rays were streaming into the window and onto my face. 

“Get up!”,  The sun seemed to say, “It’s your mother’s birthday.”

While I washed my face and tried to make my curls presentable, I recalled the events that lead to this bright January morning.

There really were no plans to celebrate my mother’s birthday this year.  My siblings and I had agreed to wait until my mom turned 80 to have that one big bang of a celebration. 

“But hey!”, One of us declared, “Why wait until mommy turned 80? Every year after 70, nay 60 is cause for celebration.”

Chillin' Time

I have been to Tagaytay, the nearest resort town from Manila, many times. Although the inroads made by tourism efforts has been responsible for the lost of Tagaytay's provincial innocence, the chilly air, foggy mornings and the awe-inspiring view of Taal Volcano makes for a good reason to return again and again.

And so, last Janaury, I found myself heading up the southern trail with seven very close friends.

Joy-filled Tagalog Morning

The Sunday before Valentines Day happened to be Mentoring Sunday. A one-hour, once a month program where volunteers, like me, spend time with the parish's scholars.

 (Know more about this by clicking here and here and here )

As I was absent the previous month, the committee felt I should make up for it by taking the lead.  This means coming up with an appropriate subject matter to bring to the attention of the children.  Although it had to be delivered in Tagalog, I gamely accepted.  My poor grasp of the language always made for comedy relief.   At the very least, I would have made the children and their parents smile as they try to make sense of what I was saying.