It would be my mom’s first death anniversary next month, and needless to say, since most of my siblings are out of the country, I will be taking charge of the arrangements since my father is preoccupied with someone.  Darn!

Since my mother is Catholic and religious, I thought that it would be appropriate to follow her belief and practices with concern to the remembrance of her death.  This would mean, the usual 9-day novena, then the big feast on the day itself– 27th November– a very important day for me as well as this is the day my children and I had travelled back to the Philippines and this is also the day my only son Ty was born.  He will be 3 on this day too.

The 9 day novena would entail praying for the soul of my mother for a straight 9 days in my house.  I am expected to serve dinner and snacks to anybody who is joining the prayers.  Since 9 days is a long day, I am thinking of buying a pig for slaughtering so we could use the meat for the entire 9 days, including the major day itself.  I would need to prepare a meal plan to avoid mispending and stress during the novena days.  I am also hiring a cook to prepare the food, as well as contacting the prayer leader and the church to schedule a special mass for my mother on the big day.

My younger sister Amy is helping me financially since she is unable to come for the anniversary.  Needless to say, I am thankful that she is able to shell out some cash so there are no hitches on mama’s anniversary.  My sister in law Luchie is helping me with the preparation for the items for the offertory and the reading.

Since everything is on planning stage, I would appreciate any suggestion, feedback and ideas on the novena and celebration of death anniversaries.  A neighbor actually suggested I skip the 9 day novena and then just make the 27th a whole day affair.  What do you think?

My father has just lost my mother almost a year ago. She finally succumbed to a lifelong problem of heart ailment. Weeks ago, a cousin from another town came to visit me and told me they had seen my father holding hands with a young girl… I was shocked but managed to curb my reaction and laughed it off. I completely forgot about the story until my brother came around on my birthday and informed me we have something important to discuss.

What the heck…

My brother did confirm that our father is indeed enamored with a young girl who works at a local bar. According to locals, the girl is a only over twenty and has been seen to hang around with my father. I told him that our father is hardly senile and can still venture on his own. What scares me is the fact that since alot of people are so against the relationship, they might end up holding out strong as our disapprovance can turn to a “you and me against the world kind of thing.” And days after my brother castigated our father, I was proven right as the decadent relationship continue until today and my father has not heed my brothers’ advise.

Now, what do you think? As children, do we have the right to control and meddle in our parents affairs especially when they seem to be influenced by untoward individuals? Do you think a younger woman can actually fall for a man who is old enough to be her grandfather? What would motivate a young woman to seek a man to whom she has more than 50 years age difference?

Here is a link to my latest contribution to Pinoy Travel Blog.

32.

Older.

Definitely wiser.

Happy Birthday to Me…

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My daughter Ia turned 1 today.

I will never forget the time when I gave birth to her.  I was in the ambulance on the way to a hospital in one of the provinces of Thailand.  It was the fastest birth for me ever!  Took me 15 minutes I think…