Christmas 2009

Above everything else, Christmas is about ....food! Kidding, (kinda)it's about family! So off we went to Lucena to spend Christmas eve and Christmas day at Wowa's home with the relatives.

We left Manila at 9am and got to Employees around 1pm because of some crazy traffic in between this place and that but we were so relieved to eat lunch and relax a bit before the 7pm anticipated mass. We tried chatting with Kuya Nicky and family but the internet was understandably congested.

We were incredulous when Wowa told us to get dressed at 5:30pm because she wanted us there an hour early(!) and found the chapel practically empty. One of the more fascinating quirks of their parish is that when one arrives, one must get a piece of padded foam whatchamacallit in green or red which one will kneel on during mass as they don't have those long wooden pews with the accompanying ledge for kneeling. These padded foams also serve as a "reserved" sign that one can place on the seat for your relatives who are still dressing up. And to be fair, Wowa was right, anyone who arrived on the dot at 7pm would have been hard pressed to find a vacant seat anywhere.

At 9pm, Wowa distributed the gifts but no one was complaining! We eagerly tore off all the pretty gift wrapper to exlaim in delight and await the thrilled expressions of each other. We really missed our other family members who were not there. We then watched Kimmy Dora! Then we called up Tita Gina and Tita Luday on Wowa's Magic Jack phone.

The next day, as jeeploads of kids and adults came by to greet us "Namamasko nga po" as we handed out candies, snacks and coins,we eagerly waited for Kuya Alan and family and after greeting each other profusely we exchanged gifts and again came the squeals and the laughter. I gave Nico a Ben 10 toy but I was worried that he may already have the "spidermonkey"figure and we all know what a bummer that can be! So I bought him a really cool "foldabot" book,too. Guess what? He already had a "foldabot" but he did not have a "spidermonkey"! Whew!

We then chatted with Kuya Nonong and family...too bad we couldn't reach Tita Chuchie and the Jurlanos. We tried! And we really miss you all ! Hope you had a good Christmas as well!

After Tito Dante's merienda, we went to Wowo's grave to pray the rosary and bade each other goodbye. I was really hoping we could have Christmas dinner at Rose and Grace, a restaurant by the road famous for serving a hot refillable bowl of bulalo and crispy tawilis but we were disappointed to find they were closed for the day. It was Christmas after all. Luckily, ChowKing was open and while they didn't have bulalo, the hot food and fast service was certainly most welcome!

So now, the Von Trapp family singers would like to greet you all "Merry Christmas!!!" and if that's not enough, how about a dance number from Kuya Alan?