2019.04.09. Spending the holiday with family

 (Now: Ready to sleep.) 

In the Philippines, April 9 is designated as a national holiday, the Day of Valor (Araw ng Kagitingan) that commemorates the Fall of Bataan to the Japanese forces in 1942. Apart from the solemn remembrance in key historical sites, there is not much tradition associated with this national holiday. In fact, as with most non-working days, this is usually the time when people get to have vacations. 

This year, we decided to go to my in-laws' place in Las Pinas City to spend some time with them. 

My in-laws hail from the Bicol region, but have resided in Las Pinas for the majority of their married life. My father in law has a small but very busy tailoring business, and this is the season when they get the bulk of their work orders (they create customized suits for hotel staff). My mother in law does the manicure and pedicure for some important families in the area (yup, that is Manny Pacquiao in the picture; nope, she doesn't work for him). 

Because they live quite far from us (I say quite because it's not so much about the distance as it is about the time needed to get to them; with traffic conditions throughout the metro worsening by the day, the around 40+ km of distance can mean 4+ hours of travel, giving it the impression of being too far), and also due to my full-time work, it is very rarely that we get to spend time with them. The grandparents call their apo almost every night, but they still miss her, of course. And Stacie sometimes asks about her Tatay and Nanay. 

So we drove to their place last night shortly before midnight, and arrived at their house just before the morning traffic caught us (in Manila, the streets are congested even more during the holidays). 

We woke up to the delicious smells from the kitchen. We had a full breakfast, complete with stories and playtime with Stacie. And shortly after, we drove to a nearby village and rented the pool. We had it all to ourselves! 

Needless to say, the kid enjoyed every single moment of it, and swam across the blue waters even in the heat of the afternoon sun. Her Tatay and Nanay kept up with her youthful energy, relishing the moments they get to spend with their only grandchild. 😊

At the end of the day, my body's tired, but my inner self was refreshed. ■