NANAY May 1

It’s been quite a while since I’ve last seen my mother. I have been missing her.

A few weeks back, my cousin told me that her mom is visiting her and she will be arriving on the 1^st of May at 7:00am (Philippine time). She also told me that my Nanay will be going to Manila with her mom. It was good news.

I felt really excited to pick them up at the airport. When I arrived from Karla’s house last night, I could barely sleep thinking about seeing Nanay again and telling her my experiences here in Manila. So, I woke up at 5am. I took a shower, put my clothes on and I went immediately to the airport. I arrived there 30 minutes before their standard time of arrival. I bought coffee to keep me up as I waited for them.

After a few minutes, their plane arrived. I stood at the waiting area, extended my neck to look left and right, trying to get a better view of the arrival area. And after a long wait, I finally saw Nanay and Nay Min. I waved at them and met them at the exit. I was really happy as in genuinely happy. The feeling was even more than what the word happy means, I guess.

We took a cab just outside the airport and headed home. When we arrived, I prepared breakfast for them and because their flight was really early, I told them to get some sleep. I, on the other hand, prepared breakfast for them – rice and corned beef. When they woke up, we ate together and as usual, I tell my stories to Nanay and she did the same. It was really fun and meaningful for me to be with Nanay again.

I really do think that distance does make the heart grow fonder. It makes you cherish every second you are with that person, whether it is your parents, your special someone, or even just a friend. It helps you appreciate the presence of that particular person in your life.

Just to wrap things up, I would just like to say, Nay, I love you so much. You and Tatay are my inspiration.

Happiness

DISCLAIMER: This blog is for April 27. I wasn't able to publish it because I didn't have internet last night. My apologies.

I went to Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 tonight to pick up Tita Empong who went to Hong Kong to cover for Tita Emilie’s absence in work while she is in Nueva Ecija. I arrived there a few minutes after ten in the evening. Meanwhile, her flight is scheduled to arrive fifty five minutes after eleven. I waited for about an hour or two just sitting and observing other people around me. It was absolutely boring and unproductive. So, I decided to walk a little bit and message my Karla regarding the CAMP SC meeting tomorrow. I thought to myself, that’s the most productive thing I can do given the circumstances that I am in.

After the long wait, she had finally arrived. We rode a cab to Cubao specifically at the Five Star Bus Terminal. While in the cab she handed me a medium-sized, yellow Giordano t-shirt she purchased at the Hong Kong airport. She also gave me two toothbrushes and a bar of a variety of the Lindt chocolates.

I was happy, contented, and flattered at the gesture. Yes, they are little things, petty as some people would say but the thought of her remembering me and giving me those little things made me really happy. I think that is absolute happiness: seeing contentment and joy in the little things that people do or give another. It’s not the brand or the price of that something that defines the essence of giving or remembering, the gesture and the thought of giving that something – whatever the brand, the price, the quality, and the use – is what matters most.

I therefore conclude, today was not as bad as I thought it would be.