12 Days For The Year That Was – December 2015

Merry Christmas! It’s already the 25th here on this side of the world. My brother and sister are outside having bonfire and drinks with a few friends. Little Z is already asleep after a busy day, my Mom is already asleep as well and my youngest brother went house-hopping. 😀

It’s been a quiet celebration in this house today. My cousin spent Christmas eve in the hospital because her baby still has to stay for observation and to get stronger (preemie baby). Praying that they will be home before new year, though so we can celebrate here at home.

Anyway, more of all that in a separate post.

The month of December is busy in almost all aspects. Z was with me in the big metro for the first half of the month so my time was pretty much divided between work, Z’s therapy sessions, doctor’s appointment, baking orders and more bonding time with the little boy. After I brought the little boy home back to the mountain city with my Mom, I was able to bake more goodies for bulk orders, shop for gifts to complete Z’s gift list (no longer my list 😀 ), clean my apartment and pack for vacation. Traffic is the worst during December, too, be it in the big metro or here in the mountain city.

As I sit here on the bed typing this post, I have been thinking what my take away would be for this month. I could think of two things: one, the value of giving. December, apparently, is the month of giving. We give gifts to family and friends automatically that sometimes we think it is already an obligation to give a gift to someone.

Ever since I was a kid, I always try to save up so I can buy gifts for family and relatives – be it a 10-peso comb or a 15-peso notebook. I love giving gifts during Christmas. It brings me joy to give something no matter how small the value of the item is. And it makes me happier to see the receiver appreciate my gift no matter how invaluable it seems. The monetary value of the item you give is not important. What’s important is that you give from the heart, not treated as an obligation, not because you are expected to, but because you feel it in your heart that you need to give something. Gift giving has never felt like an obligation for me. I really do enjoy giving gifts and I hope to instill that to my son as he grows older.

The second take away would be the value of family. Earlier today, we had lunch with a few cousins and the kids exchanged gifts. We were not complete again but watching my son play at some point (Z was really grouchy the whole day) with his cousins was really fun. This evening, we didn’t have the customary dinner we normally have since we are not complete as well. My Aunt had her Christmas dinner in the hospital with my cousin and the new baby, my grandma slept early (I think), one of my uncles went to bed early, too, because he was already drunk since afternoon, hahaha! It didn’t have that usual homey feel but at the end of the day, we know that we are family and that we will always have each other.

We may never see each other on daily basis and we only see each other several times each year, at the end of the day, we would always come home to our families. Being surrounded with family gives you that sense of belonging that you can never get elsewhere.

So this Christmas, I am grateful for having a big family where Z and I belong. While Z only has one parent, he is still part of a very big family where he will always be loved by everyone. And I am grateful for having the opportunity to give something back to the family.

Z with few of his cousins... :)
Z with few of his cousins… 🙂
with my cousins and Z's cousins :)
with my cousins and Z’s cousins 🙂

Merry Christmas, everyone! 🙂

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