my visit to manila (and tagaytay, january 2011) was not really a walk in the park. i had a work to do, an auntie to visit, and a sister to comfort. i was also to accompany my nanay to do the same things, minus the work to do.
nanay's coming to manila was not a walk in the park either. her sister is now undergoing dialysis. nanay would like to personally take care of her for a while. on another hand, her daughter, lulu, just recently lost a husband. these emergencies pushed my nanay, who hates to travel, to fly.
however, for me, hope i am not being insensitive, i have to turn these unfortunate events into opportunities. to be with nanay on a travel, despite the purpose, was enjoyable. no need to cry over spilled milk. happy we must be. to visit a sick auntie was not a sad experience, it was an opportunity to catch up good old things of good old past. auntie cried and auntie smiled, too. with my sister, i offered my ears to listen and my shoulder for her to cry on. the passing away, if you know all the story, would mean a moving on for my sister.
stressful? nope. foremost, i have a God who strengthens. second, there are playgrounds everywhere, blue sky to look up, rainbow for reminder of never again would God destroy us by flood.
after all, it is still a beautiful world.
somewhere along the way from victoria to allen, northern samar while we took the motorbike to catarman. rain and wind that was, bebet and i braved the way to catarman. home for bebet, 2-night stay for me. i was invited to speak in victoria, and accommodated in catarman. bebet's house offered a hotel-quality stay, to my pleasure, despite the rain. april 1, 2011
.JPG)