When I was younger, I have always been looking forward to spending Christmas. As Filipinos, when September begins, it's going to be months of celebration for Christmas.
On a personal note, I always look forward to spend Christmas eve here in our grandparents' house. This is a special place for us to gather and get together. Not only that, I am always looking forward to count the gifts that I receive during Christmas eve.
But as time passes, I become older and not getting any younger, I realized that things are slowly starting to change and it fears me that the usual routine or celebration we used to have will be much more different than we used to.
We lost our grandpa.
It was early 2020 when grandpa left us. It was a painful goodbye. Although we accepted already that it was his time to say goodbye.
He was able to spend Christmas and new year with us. In fact, when we went to the beach after Christmas, we noticed he's been taking his time enjoying the beach.
It was longer than his usual time to swim there. We didn't take it as a sign or manifestation though but when he died, we realized that grandpa knew his time is near and so he's enjoying the time he has left in the world.
Christmas will never be the same without him and I know, grandma will say goodbye soon too. I can't stand thinking of that happening.
Caroling sessions
My childhood has been fun. I got to experience singing in the neighborhood too. In fact, we had funny experiences while caroling.
One time we were singing across the neighborhood and we were not aware that their gate was open and a dog chased us to the other street!
It was so fun to reminisce but during that moment, it was like hunger games where you just have to run for your lives. It was traumatic.
We were so scared but when we reached the end of the street, the dog stopped and gave upon us. We then started laughing at each other and recalling everything.
We thought it was very funny but to our parents, it was not. We were scolded.
Parents getting older
Growing up, during my teenage days, all I think about was myself and I think that's normal. Teenagers are busily building themselves discovering a lot and starting to experience as much as they can but I was not aware that my parents, my uncles, and my aunties, are getting older too.
Just recently when we found out that papa has diabetes. It brought an insight to the family. I realized so many things.
Spend time with family as much as you can. They're not getting any younger, they'll soon reach old age and you'll not experience what you used to have a bond with them anymore.
Extreme watch of food intake. I realized that we should be aware of the food that we eat. Our bodies are our temple and if we neglect it, we won't be progressive and healthy.
You won't believe me as to how I have become so conscious with my food intake after finding out papa's condition. I'm just so glad that he's an obedient patient.
Having own families
2019 when the family is starting to welcome possible new family members in the core. My cousins and I are having boyfriends already and that made me realize that we're no longer the same kids who get chased by a dog because of caroling.
We're no longer the same kids who used to climb guava trees and enjoy eating the fruit while staying at the top. We're no longer the same kids who played tennis during summer camps.
We have become ladies who found their special someone who possibly gets married in the future.
It saddens me to realize that the old times will never be the same and I would definitely miss that.
I guess what I should focus on is to maximize the time we have here on Earth and let those memories stay in our hearts. At the end of the day, nobody wants to get stuck in their lives, right? We gotta keep pushing forward.
Thanks for reading.
Keep safe everyone! ❤
This makes me bit sad dahil sa realizations din ate :(. Hindi na tayo pabata which is nakakasad kasi unti unti nang nagbabago lahat. Hays. Tama ka po, all we can do for now is to cherish every moment with our loved ones.