A Rare Family Gathering That Warmed My Heart

Right after Holy Week this year, my wife, my children and I had the privilege of spending time with the larger family (my mother, siblings, nephews and nieces) in Cagayan de Oro City and Malaybalay City. I was grateful for my elder sisters who sponsored our air fare :)

It was a great experience to be part of the larger family again. We had lots of photos together, ate meals together and traveled together, a very rare event these days when each one already has his/her own career and own places to live in.

We gathered to attend an important ceremony for our youngest family member who joined the Carmelite nuns. We assembled in Cagayan de Oro City, then proceeded together in a convoy to Malaybalay City the next day.

While assembling in my elder brother's house in Cagayan de Oro City, I was grateful for the photo taken by my sister above. To me, it was one of the most beautiful photos of my wife and daughter together. I loved their cheerful spirits fully captured by the photo.

It was heart-warming to see my nephew and niece play the violin together. I didn't know the talent was in the family. The girl in the picture, Amirah, came all the way from Australia; while my nephew, Michael, came from Cebu. Yet, they performed great together.

The same nephew and niece had a great time drawing things together. Sketching was a talent in the family. My elder brother (with white hair) joined them. White hair, by the way, ran along male members of the family. I had lots of white hair myself when I took this photo.

Another talent that I saw during the trip was the painting done by elder sister. She painted the twin hearts shown in the picture above. The painting talent ran in our family. My father was a sculptor and painter on the side. He was an Engineer by profession. (Well, my elder sister was a Chemical Engineer. The engineering profession ran in the family too.)

My elder sister later had the painting framed and given to my younger sister after the Perpetual Vow ceremony in Bukidnon.

On our way to Bukidnon, we dropped by Phillips, the place where we stayed while my parents were still with Del Monte. It was great to see the place and breath its air once again. It was a long time indeed since we left. From Phillips, we then drove to Malaybalay City.

The picture was above was taken in Mangima, just past Manolo Fortich town proper. The car driven by my brother-in-law had flat tire, so we stopped at this point for around half an hour. My kids popped out of the window like chicks sticking their necks out of the shell. They looked so cute. The picture would always warm my heart. This was one of the cherished photos from that holiday.

It was a three-hour drive from the city to the monastery. What greeted us was the serene monastic air that simply flowed and overwhelmed us. The photo above was my attempt to capture the serenity of the place.

After the ceremony, we had the time to chat with our youngest family member all the way til the evening. Four of my five sisters huddled together in the photo above. Nang Helen was showing "Orang" the photos we took during the entire event, as Kenneth and Nang Sol looked on. 

It was a great and memorable holiday, one that I wished to have more every year.


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