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There are moments in one's life that you can call priceless. Moments you spend with your loved ones, your family, your friends. They are so unforgettable, so wonderful, so heartwarming that you wish you could relive them over and over again. Like the fragrant petals of a rose, you wish you could tuck them away in every fiber of your being.
Such moments occurred to me not very long ago. In fact, only late last month during my birthday. Three of my nieces who live in San Francisco, surprised me that day. I didn't know they were coming. I overheard Jovilu Verma, the youngest one, talking to my daughter Cindy over the phone. She gave Cindy their itinerary: the flight number of their plane, the arrival time here in San Diego Airport and Cindy told her that my son-in-law Steve would pick them up at the airport. So it was no longer a surprise to me!
That week, from Monday. Jan. 18 up to Thursday, Jan. 21, it was raining so hard that we thought they might not come after all. It was also raining hard in San Francisco when they left.
But surprise! On that day, Friday, Jan. 22, the rain had stopped. (As if the heavens knew it was my birthday and my nieces were coming! Thank God!)
That day, it was Cindy's day off from her work at Walmart. She woke up early. She began preparing all the food that we would serve for dinner. She cooked pochero, pancit, Shanghai egg rolls, jumbo shrimps, two big milk fish with diced tomatoes and onions as fillings which she baked in the oven. Roy, our friend from upstairs, came down and took care of the marinated pork for barbecue. He also cooked "bulanglang" (stewed vegetables stewed with shrimps and pork seasoned with bagoong alamang), a favorite of Venus.
Steve dropped his wife Venus and son Chris here in our place before he went to pick up my nieces- Liza with her husband Willlie, Ruby and Verma at the airport. Venus brought a big birthday cake, sodas and beer for the guys.
Venus helped Cindy set the table. My daughters Cindy and Venus have this artistic way of arranging the table and in an instant, the table laden with foods looked so gorgeous you could enter it in a Food Preparation Contest!
Finally, here came our guests from San Francisco. Verma was the first to hug and kissed me. Then Liza and Ruby followed. We all hugged and kissed each other with tears flowing down our faces. We haven't seen one another in years, although Verma and I are emailing each other frequently. Willie also hugged me and said" It's good to see you, Tia, after all these years."
Liza is the comedian among the three. Whenever she opens her mouth, we laugh so much we end up holding our stomachs. Ruby is the quiet one. She would just smile and take out the gifts they brought for me. Each of them has different gifts for me. Verma, the youngest is a Beautician. They are all beautiful, my nieces!
One by one, my other children came with their families. Ben, Gemma and Jason came first, followed by Jeffrey, Ella and their baby boy, Nathan. Next to come were Jessica with her boyfriend Taylor. Then Eden and Boyet came followed by their daughter Pam with her boyfriend Jonar. Later, Nheneng, the daughter of my nephew Jun who lives in Guam, came too with her husband Aaron and their kids, Alyssa and Daniel. Nheng brought a big box of delicious bread. Jun couldn't attend my party but he sent me a message with his gift. They all brought gifts for me.
I was so overwhelmed with happiness that my whole family here in the States gathered together to celebrate my birthday. Amidst fun and laughter, our guests enjoyed the delicious foods after I delivered my prayer of Thanksgiving. Our American friends, Carol and Rose who live in our compound also came and joined us, giving me an envelope with gift certificates.
After the dinner, we had this singing session with our Karaoke. Steve, as usual, was the first to belt out his Elvis Presley songs. But unfortunately, the magic mike didn't work so well that we had to stop singing. So we decided that we gather around the table once more so we could enjoy the birthday cake. They sang the Birthday song and as I blew the candles (please don't ask how many!) and made a wish, peals of laughter reverberated around the room. Then Eden sliced the cake and gave each one their share, with ice cream. Our merriment lasted until past midnight and then my children and their families left. Carol and Rose left earlier.
It was agreed that the following day we'd continue our celebration in Chula Vista at Venus' and Steve's place. So the next day, we went to Chula Vista.
When we arrived there, we found Ben and his family already there, helping Venus and Steve prepare the foods that Venus cooked. She had spaghetti, chicken afritada ,vegetable casserole, and her specialty, pink salad for dessert. She had lots of garlic bread to go with the spaghetti. Steve and Jason took care of the barbecues in the backyard where Steve has a big barbecue stand. Eden brought some green mangoes, and eggplants which Jason roasted on the barbecue grill. Cindy cooked "binagoongan" sliced pork sauted with onions and tomatoes and" bagoong alamang".
Again, amidst much fun and laughter, food and music, our family had, as my dear niece Verma said, "priceless moments" which can never be forgotten.
The next day, Sunday, was the day they had to go back to San Francisco. This time, it was Eden's turn to hold a party, a continuation of my birthday and as Despedida for them.
Eden ordered a lot of food (again!) like kare-kare, lechon, bopis, fried chicken, barbecues and lots of desserts. (There goes our New Year's resolutions to eat less and exercise more!) After enjoying the food, Boyet played some music. We danced until my legs and back ached that I had to sit down. Verma, Liza, Ruby, Eden and Cindy are great dancers and I couldn't keep up with them! ( Talk about growing old!)
After the dance, we reminisced our days in the old country when we lived right next door to each other. We couldn't stop laughing as they talked about their antics when they were still kids, their experiences in school, our "get-togethers " during the holidays. But there were moments when we talked about members of our family who have passed away, that brought tears in our eyes. How we wished they were also with us! And of course we missed our son, Sonny who lives in Oak Harbor, Washington with his wife, Helen, their two boys, Raymond and Julian, and my youngest daughter who is still in the Philippines, with her husband Ramon and their two boys, Lee Raemon
and Lee Robin. Also my niece, Lagrimas, who was here last year on my birthday, who lives in Virginia. Our happiness would have been complete had they been here with us.
Then came the moment that they had to leave. After all the fun, the joy and laughter, we hugged, kissed one another and wept for "parting is such sweet sorrow". Verma almost didn't want to let go as she kissed and hugged me. She said as she sobbed, "Tia, these are priceless moments which we will never forget. These three days we spent with you are so unforgettable. We love you so much and we thank you all for your warm welcome." I was speechless with wet eyes as they all hugged and kissed me. I don't know when we will be able to get together again. They had to go back to their homes and their children and their jobs. Life must go on.
Boyet took them to the Airport. With promises that they will come back again someday, they left with heavy hearts and left us sad, with lingering memories of those unforgettable three days of "priceless moments".
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