Escape to Family

My brother Bong came home last November to take a break from his job as nurse on a cruise ship. His place here in the city is a 600 square meter resort, that is, complete with huts and rooms and a swimming pool. So the family has a place where we can always gather together and bond.

My siblings and I grew up on a 27 square meter up-and-down apartment space. Today, my sister lives with her husband and 3 children in a condo unit that is 41 square meters small. I have a house in Cavite that has a lot area of 30 square meters. Space has become too precious and sought after since all of us began earning our own income.

So during my mother’s birthday last December 10, and this Christmas, all we did was bum around in my brother’s place. We swam in the pool, played cards, laughed together at the children’s antics and jokes, ate a lot, sang every song we knew, jogged up and down the hill and sometimes down to talipapa, and slept together like campers. The kids decided to own one hut and made it their private space—together with their teddy bears and psps. Inay and myself slept under a mosquito net “imported” from China (my youngest sister worked as a teacher there). First and second cousins came and belted new songs and kundimans. Inay enjoyed the little garden and happily endured the cold nights just to be with her “apos”.

Family bonding happened more regularly in 2008 since the resort became fully operational. I thank God for this wonderful blessing. Sometimes, we get carried away and forget that others don’t have even a cardboard to sleep on. But I can’t help but be happy about our escape to family, from the stress and hurry of everyday life.