D survived his first week

Ha! D survived his first week in Pisay, from waking up early to sleeping late at night, he seems fine with the schedule so far. D said he gained a network of new friends. His teachers are nice and kind.

Once, he got lost looking for the library, but he said its fine with him and he added that he is optimistic that soon he'll familiarize himself with his new surrounding. Hmmm, very positive outlook, eh?

Hopefully, in the days to come, all will work out just fine, of course, with God's big help!;)

ready or not?

Finally today is THE day when D is moving out from our bedroom to his own sanctuary after 13 years and 11 days of sleeping with us. Several times have I asked him if his ready to move out or not but his constant answer is a plain and simple, "Yes, Mama, I'm ready!" Ouch!

You see, D is an only child, thus consequently, I cannot bear to have him sleep in another room. I don't know but I just feel safe and peaceful if I see him sleeping in our bedroom.

The furniture-maker just delivered a nice custom-made bedframe; the bed foam is thick and comfy and the beddings all starched and scented; the black out curtain is hung; the faint smell of paint still lingers inside the bedroom; i guess, it's time...

"I'll get used to the idea, eventually," is all I can say to myself. Hahaha! I am having some dramatic moments again. I could feel the lump in my throat and my eyes are heavy with tears... If only hubby can see me now...hahaha! But honestly, Im sad. My baby is all grown-up. No matter how I try to freeze time, it ain't gonna happen. Reality hurts.

So, i guess, the question of being ready or not is truly for me and I should answer it with enough courage and confidence...

Hard as it is, my reply will always be, "No, I'm not yet ready."

25 years and Counting

Exactly 3 days before the Grand Reunion of Batch '84, typhoon Emong inched its way to Philippine Area of Responsibility, targetting Northern and Central Luzon with gusty winds and torrential rains. Signal number 3 was hoisted over Tarlac, the venue for the BAGETS’ most anticipated reunion.

"This isn't happening," I calmly told myself. Of all days, why did it have to be in the week when all the logistics for the reunion are nearly completed? I readied myself for a cancellation because I thought many of our batchmates may not be able to come because of the typhoon. But then, miracles do happen. The typhoon made a landfall on Thursday evening, a few hours earlier than what PAGASA predicted, which was Friday morning. The rain poured hard but it wasn't catastrophic. "God is on the BAGETS' side," I thought thankfully.

Although it was a bit cloudy that morning of Saturday, it did not dampen the spirits of the BAGETS to go on with the celebration as planned. The reunion kicked off with a mass which was immediately followed by a motorcade. Vehicles were decorated with white and red balloons and posters announcing Batch ’84 Silver Jubilee. Every BAGETS came in their fiery red batch shirt.

Back at the Bulwagan ng mga Gobernador, Darwin, on behalf of Crispin, our class valedictorian, formally opened the program with his short welcome remarks. He was then followed by two of our teachers, Sir Lacsina and Madam Salisi, who graciously spoke kind words about our batch.

Perhaps one of the most touching moments in the program was when everybody stood up to sing, "THS alma dear, list to our song of cheer, echoing from the campus, loud and clear...." The song brought a lot of happy high school memories. Soon, tears welled up in the eyes of some of our batchmates. It was truly a very nostalgic moment.

Twenty-five years definitely ushered some changes in the way we remember people. (I’m talking about some memory lapses here people! Hahaha!) Often times, you remember the faces but not the names. No matter how hard you try, you just don’t seem to arrive at the exact combination of a face and a name. Good thing, everyone representing a particular section went in front to get formally recognized. Now, wasn’t this a good idea especially for us suffering from a temporary mental gap. Hahaha! Cameras flashed and videos kept rolling practically the whole time.

The dance medley by Paz, Jinky, Weng L., Weng A., Cris, Lina, and the other girls (I’m so desperate to recall names) together with Jojo, Jun, Nick, Beto, and the other boys (and again!) literally brought the house down. The groovin’ and shakin’ made the rest of us clamor for more dancing as the tunes caused everyone to travel down the memory lane once more.

Lunch was a breeze. The “bulwagan” was buzzing with BAGETS updating one another with what’s current with their lives while at the same time, old photographs were flashing on the large screen. Oh, how funny it was to see the “then” photos! Time has changed and so our looks… hey, we aged more gorgeously (both the ladies and gentlemen), no?!

The afternoon went by without a hitch with the BAGETS playing one game after another. We had a good doze of laughter as the boys tried their very best to win over the girls in our Reverse Charade game. As expected, the girls won! Yipee! There were gifts galore for all the game winners as well as raffle prizes for the rest of us. Also, our dependable organizers still managed to get each one a plate souvenir. Lovely…

While all these were taking place, our global BAGETS, Nhay, Lucy, Beng, Nards, and Dan were all tuned in via internet. They all defied the time difference. Nhay and Lucy were also in red shirts. Now, that’s what you call extreme cooperation. Thanks to all of you for staying up really really late. We owe you bigtime!

Tess reported to the BAGETS about the plans and programs our batch wish to accomplish while Sting thanked all those who helped in organizing. I particularly like what he said, “Twenty five years after graduation, all of us have matured one way or another. We should look at each other as one big solid batch ’84 and not as people belonging to a certain section.” Wow, this is so true!
Finally, it was time to bid goodbye to all of our friends. Singing the THS Farewell Song was a fitting end to a momentous day. A lot of us still lingered until it was already past our appointed time. No one wants to part ways. Maybe on our 30th year, the celebrations will extend until the next day.

I heard one saying that our Silver Jubilee was a SUCCESS! We owe this to the organizing committee headed by the ever dependable Cristina, Jojo, Pykes, Paz, Jinky, Wena M., Weng L., Ana, Lina and a lot of beautiful people who opened their homes to accommodate the weekly meetings. And, let us not forget our global BAGETS headed by Nhay (also the owner/creator of our Yahoo Group), Luz, Beng, Nena, Rachel, Jina (who flew in from Singapore just to celebrate with us, bongga!), Leah (our adopted BAGETS because she came from another school) Dan, Noel (McBu), Nards, and Tanay who went out of their way to send their contributions… A big THANKS to all of you! Also, my heart swells with gratitude to some of our local BAGETS (you know who you are) who did not hesitate to give more than what was asked of them… Your thoughtfulness is contagious… Hats off to you, guys!

JOB WELL DONE! CONGRATULATIONS, TO ALL BAGETS WHO IN SMALL OR BIG WAY HAVE EXTENDED A WARM HAND IN MAKING OUR SILVER JUBILEE A SUCCESS!

Let’s already plan for our Pearl Anniversary… Don’t get tired, please... And, hey, I’m so looking forward to seeing you all again soon. ♥♥♥