We had our family reunion on my Dad's side last Friday, December 30, 2004 at my Aunty Norma's house inside the UP Campus in Los Baños, Laguna. Though we wanted to hold it earlier, schedules of the other members of the extended family didn't allow it. My married cousins had to spend Christmas day with their respective in-laws and the younger cousins working at the call centers were on duty. Unlike the past year when everyone was present down to the kids, this year, quite a handful weren't able to make it last Friday. My brother had a prior engagement he couldn't get out of, my cousin Tetel was vacationing in Bohol together with her husband and 2 kids, cousin Bogs is in the Middle East, the kids of my cousin Luanne were with their Lola and apparently, the pay at the call center is much too hard to ignore and has taken precedence over family gatherings. Be that as it may, the rest of us still gathered together for the yearly ritual of family chismis and chiding while feasting on fried chicken, lechon kawali, baked tahong and other high cholesterol food. The one good addition to the gathering was the presence of our eldest cousin Gino, son of Aunty Norma, based in Florida and is in town for the holidays, together with his wife, Camille.
I took special note of the behaviours of our next generation, Aaron (son of my cousin Arvin) and Geoff (son of my cousin Jane). When he was much younger, I couldn't get a hug, much less elicit a happy reaction, from Aaron. When I would call him, he would either scamper away to his yaya or to his Tita Teteng or give me this big scowling or glowering look. At the reunion last Friday however, I learned that he turned 6 years old already and to my pleasant surprise, he is now able to sit beside me while patiently explaining the drama unfolding in "Lovers in Paris" and "Hiram", telenovelas shown on Channel 2. Geoff, on the other hand, is 10 years old and can sit quietly in one corner while glued to his Gameboy. Geoff will break a lot of girls' hearts, I can tell already. He is smart, athletic and good-looking. Jane told me that when they would go the Mall, Geoff would get admiring glances and get cute comments from the sales ladies. Still, boys will be boys and throughout our stay in my Aunt's house, the comfortable atmosphere would be punctuated by their roughhousing which can be heard all the way up to the 2nd Floor.
Year 2004 ended on a very sad note. As of this writing, the Asian Tsunami that hit the region last December 26, 2004 has claimed 141,000 lives and Foreign Aid is only getting through now. Gloomy predictions for the year 2005 pervades the local and international scene. However, let us continue to hope and pray that 2005 will bring peace and prosperity to everyone as long as we continue to dream and pursue our goals conscientiously, both as individuals, and collectively as a people.
Happy New Year!!!