catching up series: sad reunion

Life is a backstabbing b*tch, a friend used to say. While I was on a high because of the new job opportunity, my mom's side of the family suddenly went through a dark time when my uncle got ill and eventually passed away. He is my mom's eldest brother, Uncle Nar.

I would have to admit that we are closer to my dad's side. We would regularly go out with my cousins' families or visit each other's houses. We would celebrate special occasions with them too. Meanwhile, with my mom's side, we would only get to see them when it's All Soul's day. And in the habit of linking old posts, here are some Undas reunions with the Abadilla clan at Sanctuario de Paz. It is where my lolo Macho was laid to rest. 

Undas 2011. 

Late Visit for 2012. 

Undas 2015. 

See? We can't even make it a regular thing as a clan. 

But of course we do visit lolo regularly even without the rest of the family. 

Grandparent's Day 2013. 

Random Visit 2014. 

It's raining links, as always! :)

Anyway, speaking of reunions, we were suddenly forced into one back in June 2016 when Uncle Nar passed away. If I'm not mistaken (which I think I'm not :P), it was Mithril's first time to see some of her cousins. At this point, I have lost count of Kuya Jong's youngsters. The last time time we were all together, that was Undas 2015, he had six kids already. Fast forward to today, he has eight na yata! Grabe no? I can't even begin to imagine the daily chaos. 

A crying Mithril and the Abadilla kids
Zai, Jonnel (back), Moimoi, Lawrence, Miyuki, Neya, PJ (back), JJ, Hael & Papao
kulang pa yan! :P 

MoiMoi, Hael and JJ

Moi and Neyang

Mithril and ate Miyuki

Going back to the passing of tito Nar, he was also laid to rest in Sanctuario de Paz, in the other cemetery plot that my mom bought. It was honestly a bit on an issue cause if you think about it, my parents invested for the family's security but because their family failed to prepare for tough times like this, we had to give it up for them. Not that we ever wanna use a cemetery plot di ba, but you get what I mean. But my father was understanding of the circumstances and we just had to invest again for when the inevitable happens. But Papa Jesus, please, sa far future pa ha? :)

Whew! Family issues no? But I guess, as much as we should be there to help and support one another, we should also know where to draw the line. I am actually very proud of my mom for always being there for her relatives but sometimes, I, along with my sisters, can't help but remind her to realize what is too much already. Because ideally, everyone should work hard enough to be able to sustain themselves and their immediately family. 

As for uncle Nar in heaven, I know he's happy with all the help that mom is extending to their family. But I'd like to believe too that he'd be happier when he finally sees his grown-up sons providing enough for the household that he left behind. One day, uncle Nar! Keep guiding them from above. :)

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catching up series: for our amazing dads

First of all, I would just like to remind you that it's 2016 on the blog right now. It's actually June 2016 and it's Father's day. Hehehe! Kaya ko to! Pasasaan ba't matatapos din 'tong catching up series na 'to. :P

So anyway, we usually don't celebrate days like this. I was trying to look for old posts to link up but I only found THIS, a father's day celebration back in 2011. I didn't even find one for mother's day. I  tried to recall what we usually do and I realized that oftentimes, we would only buy a cake or cook good food at home. Minsan nga, wala pa completely.

But back in 2016, it was a different story. I just got hired then, *kaching kaching* $$$, so I thought it's the perfect time to treat the family. It was actually a very happy phase in my life because I finally got back to the corporate world after three friggin' years of being a bum. The whole back story is in this POST so if you have more time to spare you can click on that link later. So ayun nga, sobrang masaya lang ako nito so aside from it was father's day, I had more reasons to celebrate.

So we went out for dinner tagging along our extended family. Yep, that's my cousin's little brood. Ayaw ko ng ikwento ulit kung bakit kami laging magkakasama. If you're curious why, you gotta read more of my posts. Hahaha! JK one half. :) We had dinner at Manam, roamed around a bit and then as usual, arcade for the kids! If my memory serves me well, parang we weren't very happy with the food at Manam. Yes they serve Filipino food, which is our all-time choice, but we felt like it's too pricey considering that the food is mediocre. 

Pero teka nga, may isa pa kong issue! Damn, look at that hair! I completely forgot that I sported a hairdo this dugyot. HAHAHA! What was I thinking?? I was so surprised when I saw the photos when I was organizing and editing them. Hay, regrets, regrets!

But if there's one thing that I'm not regretting, it is that we went out to celebrate the day of our amazing dads! (Oh, nasabi na yung title! :P Haha! Gets nyo?) It makes me feel good thinking that I've been dedicating my life in giving back to the people who took care of me, not just my parents, but my older cousins too! Unfortunately, my equally amazing aunts were taken early from us because I would have loved to do the same for them. But I know they're proud of us and they're smiling from heaven because we (my sisters and I) turned out to be #superaunties too! It's the best feeling knowing that you are able to give back and pay forward also. Syempre, all that while working on yourself too! So ayun na nga, napareflect ako! I should probably write about my childhood heroes one of these days. It's just that I got to appreciate them more, now that the tables have turned. 

But for tonight, my kwento ends here. Enjoy the photos but please don't judge my hair. I can't forgive myself either. Hahaha! :))

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catching up series: worthwhile weekends

Worthwhile weekends -- May 28 and June 11, specifically! Not that I remember the exact dates but you know, Facebook is there to help. :P The first Saturday, we visited the Garcias. We just wanted to spend the weekend together, cook something special and of course, eat! Kumain lang talaga ng masarap, masaya na kami! Up until now, we make it a point to spend weekends together from time to time. And we make it a point to eat good food too. Haha!

 

And then two Saturdays after, we visited the Chuas at Rivercreek. It's a farm that was managed for a time by my cousin's hubby. This was actually the fourth time that I visited the farm. The first time was the impromptu visit with mom and the sisters. The next one was when my sister and I took care of my nephew when my cousin gave birth to her second baby, our dear Xana banana. And the third one was a year after, for Xana's first birthday celebration. Took us another year to be able to visit again but the wait was so worth it because this time around, we're visiting as a complete family. And mind you, there was nothing special to celebrate, we really just wanted to visit. 

As usual, the kids were the stars of the day. Lagi naman eh! It felt so good seeing them having fun and enjoying nature. I myself appreciated the surroundings so much. If only it's possible to leave the city, no? Who wouldn't love staying at the farm, or by the beach. Hay sarap.

Aside from enjoying the nature, can you guess what else we enjoyed? Hehehe! Food, of course! Sometimes we joke around na kung hindi siguro kami matatakaw, mayaman na kami. Haha! But seriously, I know I've recently just mentioned this but really, food is our guilty pleasure!

We spent the day just chilling and eating at the farm. As for the kids, they enjoyed the indoor pool too! This was four years ago but I can clearly remember how happy they were! When I think about it now, has it really been four years already? It's so cliché but I really just have to say this.. time flies sooo fast!!! I honestly can't wait to progress with this catching up series so I can share their most recent photos. Oh how they've grown!

  

I actually have one more farm visit to write about in this catching up series. That would be the last one though because as of this writing, my cousin's hubby no longer manages the farm. Sayang! But at least we have memories to keep and to look back to. I miss you already, Rivercreek!

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