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Hello everyone! How are you all doing? Well, it's been quite a while since I last wrote due to overlapping schedules between classes. It's time I did a life update, so let's begin with a blast to the past! Or should I say, a blast to the last month before 2025 happened.
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My family and I have this thing; almost like a tradition to get together for a whole week and spend time with each other along with our grandparents. Due to financial issues lately, my parents weren't able to fund for tickets to go to Luzon and celebrate New Year's with the rest of our clan. We'd spend it at home — and to be honest, it wasn't really the best thing to experience. Spending the New Year away from our whole family always felt very lonesome and uneventful. Each day, my brother and I would count the days till December flew by, and would ask our parents if we'd ever get the chance to go back to Manila to be with our relatives.
2024 came by, and it was the moment we had been praying for a long time now. My parents were able to save up for plane tickets, but ultimately decided that my brother and I should go first so that we would be able to enjoy our time there for at least 2 weeks. The thought of travelling without our parents for the first time was enthralling, and flying independently made me want to immediately nod. Without much thought and a few days later, my brother and I sat on a bus all the way to the airport in the city. The ride took 3 hours, and my brother was still reluctant about the idea although I kept on reassuring him. Fast forward, we were at the airport, checking-in when it crossed my mind — well too vividly, that my brother and I were still minors. Of course, the staff at the airport were a bit astounded or concerned perhaps, and asked us where our parents were. I told them we were going to our grandparents' earlier than their scheduled visit, and tried to maintain my composure as documents and waivers were sent to me left and right. Being the older sister I was, I always had to keep my little brother in check, and made sure that he was with me all the time. The airport staff were really kind, as they made sure to prioritize and assist us during gate changes, up until we boarded the plane.
We were assigned to sit on the front seats so the staff could get a clear view of us, making sure we were safe and sound whilst on board. The whole ride went well as usual, and I told my brother to rest so he could have enough energy when we got to our destination. Unknowingly, I drifted asleep too because of exhaustion, but my ears were thrumming and hurting when the altitude increased> It made me really uncomfortable and I visibly twitched in my seat, but I didn't make it visible to my brother as he was leaning on my shoulder while sleeping.
When we landed, the staff still made sure to assist us all the way through. Even if my uncle was the one who picked us up, they still made sure to do a lot of precautionary measures before we were finally reunited with them, and I got to be with my sister and my cousins once more.
I almost forgot to mention one important thing — my grandparents moved from the city to the province because they were persistent on living in peace by the countryside, so my uncle and his family moved to a villa nearby so someone could still look after them. It would then be our first time seeing how their life went because the last time we saw them, they were still living in an apartelle by the city proper. My uncle had to drive to another route all the way to Subic to check on something. He went through a lot of efforts and fed us really well, I felt like my stomach was about to burst. The drive lasted for nearly 4 hours before we were able to finally go home, but we had to make a stop to my grandparents house first.
The first view I came across was my grandfather, watching a boxing match on the TV. He looked delighted to see us, and we gave him kisses on the cheek before I made my way to my grandma's room to greet her. One thing to note here was that my grandmother had a really bad accident, and she ended up being bedridden. So of course, a lot of things have changed by then. I opened the door to her room with caution and saw their caretaker and the person who we've considered as a part of our family now — Ate Rose. She had been taking care of my grandparents for over 10 years now, and started working for them when she was around 15. My family has always been grateful for her for taking good care of my grandparents, and for never leaving their side even when things got tough. As I got a clearer view of my grandma, I almost cried. She was lying down on the bed, her body frail and weak, and her form was so skinny. She was unrecognizable compared to the last time I saw her. Her eyes drifted towards me and my brother, and I placed a kiss on her cheek before saying hello to her. My heart shattered when she asked me who we were, and it just dawned on me that things would really change from here onward. My grandma was diagnosed with first stage dementia a few years back, and she was already 84, so it was understandable that she'd forget things, but it really broke my heart to realize that we hadn't seen each other in so long, it felt like I was a stranger in my own family's home.
I instinctively reached out to caress her hand and talked with her for a while, before going to the bathroom for a quick break and let my tears flow there. I calmed myself down before returning to the room and organized our things, then went to the dining room to eat tons of food my uncle ordered for us.
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This was pretty much what happened in Day 1 of our travel, not much happened but it was a really sentimental moment for me because I got to be with my family again. Stay tuned for the next parts to follow, as there will be more exciting journeys I want to tell all of you! But for now, let's end the blog here or I might end up writing a whole novel's worth of words HAHAHAHA
Thank you for reading my blog and I hope you enjoyed! See you again soon and have a great day lovelies! ˚⊱🪷⊰˚
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