All Saint's Day Thoughts

Today is a national holiday since it's All Saint's Day. Generally, for most Filipinos this is a day of family reunions ....for both the living members as well as those who have passed on. In the past, the entire family used to go back to the province to be with our relatives and all together we go to the town cemetery and bring flowers, light candles, and generally just visit the tombs of our loved ones. Now that all of us have grown up and Mommy & Daddy have grown much older, we no longer go. Instead, we just light candles at home to remember and honor those who have gone before us.

If you have been to the Philippines during this time of the year, you'd know how it is. Aside from Holy Week, this is the time when most people (including their families) staying in Manila leave the city to go back to their hometowns. Bus stations are overflowing with people ....up to ten times their ordinary capacity....all frantic to get a ride. Daddy even used to help us boys climb through the windows to reserve seats for us.... good thing buses then were not air conditioned!!! We also used to wait and ride the buses even before they reach their Manila station ....as far as 20 kilometers away.... only to find out once they reach the station that their return trip was not for our province!!! Now that more people have cars and private transportation, getting a ride is not the only problem... heavy traffic on the roads is another problem ....a two-hour journey could last as long as 5 hours!!!

Because of these, the entire family stopped going anymore. Besides, most of my aunts and uncles in the province have, themselves, passed on.... my Daddy is the last surviving member of his family, while Mommy and her sister in Caloocan City are the only one left in theirs. We realize the importance of remembering and honoring our dead ancestors.... but we also believe that this can be done anywhere anytime, as long as the spirit is there. Besides, we're sure that our remaining relatives in the province wouldn't be amiss in this responsibility on this day.

In addition, I'd like to show my gratitude and to express how I feel blessed for the gift of life.... and for fact that our immediate family is still fully intact.