THIS story is about reunions and other celebrations that surround the merry season of Christmas. The extra gatherings that filled almost all, if not all, dates of the December calendar. There were even days marked with two or three affairs you wished you could clone yourself to honor the commitments because “you have to” lest disappoint the host who came home from a faraway place, or the absence will put you in the center of discussion.
Catching up equates to eating and/or drinking, that’s a fact. The more we consume everything gets bigger—the waist, the voice, the laughter. Reminiscing is the most fun. The more people who remembers an incident the noisier it gets.
High school life. It is true that the friends you made in high school are the friends you keep forever. The four years in secondary school has the strongest bind for some reason. This is why I find high school reunions fun.
Catching up with my HS Batch 81 was a riot. In two separate gatherings, there were the who’s who tales: who fought with whom, who bullied whom and got punished for it, who was the 3rd year high school Math teacher, etc. It’s quite unbelievable how much I don’t know or have forgotten. To hear stories new to me or recycled ones never fail to draw out laughter.
In the home front, Christmas and New Year’s days are bridged with happy celebrations. Two of the most special members in the family earns another candle to blow on their cakes—the Salvador patriarch turned 86 and his one and only great grandchild turned five.
The one and only apo in the family is happiest with his toy cars, which he can’t have enough of. So we all know what to bribe him with if we want a hug, a kiss, a smile or a photo with him. He added more to his collection on his double-gifting season.
And before the New Year chimed in, the big man has to blow his birthday candle, which he did—one on a miniature birthday cake (but he got a bigger one after). He was unable to comment when we asked how he liked his cake. But he didn’t miss the joke, he was smiling. We love you Dad!
Happy New Year to all!
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