Togetherness

They say Christmas are for kids. How come? Because kids don’t care about how much money they need in order to put food on the table on Christmas Eve. They don’t worry much about what gift to buy for the Kris Kringle cuz they know they could just pick up a smooth rock from their neighbor’s garden and think that it would be a perfect gift for her little brother.

When you grow older, you tend to less care about the simple things and you worry too much. I guess that’s why as people grow, they say that the past Christmases were happier.. that Christmas has devaluated.

Well, that’s just my realization cuz all of my fondest Christmas memories were when I was still a child. My father used to work as a seaman so I had no recollection of him being with us during Christmas. He “adopted” my cousins instead (to make up for his loss, I guess) and had us celebrate Christmas in our humble home. I grew up with my cousins and we’re like a big family.

fedhz and cousins

We didn’t have enough money to buy a decent green plastic Christmas tree so the oldies (my parents and her cousins) would make a tree made of twigs which they picked up from old trees, buy some white japanese paper, and use some hand-me-down tree decors.

Christmas day with homemade xmas tree

Although it doesn’t look like the same tree I saw from our neighbors or in the movies standing beside their chimneys, I still love our home-made tree. That tree taught us the value of togetherness. Making it together was fun and made us all closer not to mention the elders patience with me for destroying the japanese paper cuz I couldn’t twist it right. hehe

My father made sure that no one was left out (besides him). I only have two siblings but every time my father comes home, we’re like one barangay fetching him at the airport. He would bring us to the museum, the zoo, the park, but he was never there during Christmas.

Nayong Pilipino monkeys

I didn’t know that in order for us to have a decent meal that time, my father had to sacrifice. All I knew was that I am happy with my cousins especially that I receive so many gifts from my 5 sets of Ninongs and Ninangs (godparents). Yet, I still feel happy every time I remember those days. It reminds me that Christmas isn’t always about giving or receiving material gifts. Christmas is about being together with the people you care about.

get together at Enchanted kingdom

This is us now together with my father minus my other cousins who have families of their own plus my sister’s kids and Yzabella in my tummy. *wink wink*

Tagged as: Christmas, home made, home made Christmas tree