Last Sunday was the 1st birthday of my cousin’s son, Sean, who also happens to be my ‘inaanak.’ He had his birthday party in Pampanga in the Officers’ Club of the Air Base. This is one event that I cannot allow myself to miss. First because he’s my ‘inaanak.’ Second because it is his first birthday (they say the most important birthdays to attend are the 1st and the 7th). Lastly and most importantly is that I haven’t been going to Pampanga (mother side) for the longest time. My weekends have been so preoccupied with a lot of activities in the past months that I couldn’t even make time to visit my relatives who are just 1.5 hours away. So I blocked off my Sunday and made some arrangements with Allan about our lower household that day.
Anyway, the party was fun. Kiddie fun. There was were clowns, games for adults and kids, magic shows, gift opening, lots of picture taking and great food. I have been bloated that weekend and the food that the caterer served only added to that. Hehe. After the party and after most of the guest left, the clan stayed to have videoke session. My tito’s friend heated things up with his 93s and 95s that challenged most of my relatives. The next thing you know, the queue of songs was long and was enough to last us for the night. There were the ultimate ballad songs, the diva presentations and of course the dance songs. I believe the last 4 or 5 songs were dance songs and all my titas danced to it with swing or cha-cha or LA walk and other ballroom steps. Naturally, they involved us, the younger generation. Oh that was fun! I know the usual idea that family events are boring and routine but this one was a bit different for me. It’s not so much the events that happened but more so the feeling that I got… it’s a feeling of closeness and of bonding… that in the end, whatever life throws at you and wherever life may lead you, however long your journey is, you always go back to family. And imperfect as they are, they will always be there to welcome you home – no questions asked. That however successful you are in your career or in your personal life, and that maybe your salary now is way bigger than most of them, and that you probably know more academic facts and figures from your education… but to them, you are still that little boy, who they used to carry going to the park and give 25 cents to for buying something in the sari-sari store. Sometimes we hate that kind of treatment but in this instance, I treasured it. Maybe because now I know that the little boy is still there and actually never left. He just had a bigger playground…..
