of good sunshine mornings, sweet night kisses and everything in between

Last weekend, we had our uncle buried. He is a cousin of my mom and though our families were really not that superclose, you know how Filipino families work, right? So despite the heavy sched i had last Thursday and Friday, we hurried to Compostela last Saturday to pay respect.

actually, i thought we wouldnt make it. i got up around 12 noon last Sat so, our aunt left us. it would really be expensive to bring 5 people to Compostela, not to mention the long trip, the hot sun and the dusts. that would really be soooo haggard. its a good thing that my pop volunteered our uugod-ugod jeepney (which is already 21 years old so its understandable). looking at its condition, you would right there and then hesitate to go. i did. and its really true to listen to your instincts! we did not make it with our grandpa jeepney. we even didnt make it out of davao yet when at the junction of Buhangin and Panacan the engine went off. that was already 5 pm and i lost my hopes. my cousin and i went ahead of my pop and his assistant Kuya Ricky since they would be fixing grandpa jeepney. but when we reached home, there was a truck parked in front of our house. then my dad called me and said to pack things up since we’d be leaving for Compostela in 5 minutes. i was shocked, amazed and excited at the same time. would pop really want to go there badly enough to borrow a vehicle from uncle bong? it was something new since ive known long before, that pop and my mom’s relatives arent going quite smooth. of course, pop was very vocal about it, which sparks most of our arguments.

three of us, bikbik, evanjikay and me, were seated on the backpart. it was already around 9 in the evening when we headed for Compostela so just imagine how cold it was! and worst, there were occasional rainshowers! though there was a large plastic tent to protect us from the rain, we still ended up wet reaching the venue after four hours of long travel. there was a warm welcome from our relatives that made the event looked like a reunion.

oh well, practically, you may see it that way since we only get to see each other when somebody in the family tree dies. ours is a very huge clan that i didnt even recognize the others. there were aunts and uncles and cousins and more children! there were lolos and lolas too.

getting reunited in a group this big after 2 years (the last was during my mom’s wake), nevertheless, i should say it was fun. aside from the coffin lights that is obvious from the streets, the gathering seemed more of a fiesta to me. only a few people cried (say, below 10) and there were lots of food! i heard they had 3 pigs butchered for the viands for a whole barangay, plus one more for the lechon, and a cow. waw. see? its a reunion. XD

im not saying though that somebody from the clan ought to die soon for everybody to meet again. and it would be a lot better if we had a planned reunion right? XD