Tuesday 19 February 2008

Our Home has been Blessed!

If there is one thing that Junfer and I are, both of us are dreamers. I remember that very early in our relationship, we were already dreaming of someday raising a family of our own in a land full of opportunities not only for ourselves but also for the little angels that God will send to us. I also recall that one of our biggest dreams is to have our very own home that we will fill with love and laughter.

Through the years, God has been so kind to both of us. He has turned a lot of our dreams into reality. One of the most recent gifts we have received from him is our very own home here in the Netherlands. Naturally, the very first thing that Junfer and I thought of after having bought our home was to find a priest who will do the house blessing.

Finally, we managed to have the house blessing last Sunday. It was also God who paved the way for us to meet Father Jacob. We met him through couple’s for Christ, we were introduced to him by other couple-friends and he willingly obliged when we requested him to perform the house blessing. And as icing to the cake, Mama Lits was here to witness this important celebration!

Father Jacob was scheduled to arrive at five in the afternoon and so Mama Lits and I labored the entire day to prepare the menu that we will all feast on after the blessing. Meanwhile, Junfer cleaned the house and was in charge of finding coins that will be thrown after the blessing is over. Most importantly, we set the altar at the center of the living room where we placed an image of the Holy Family (a wedding gift that we brought all the way from Manila) and St. Therese of the Child Jesus (an image that we got from St. Therese’s Cathedral in France). Bouquets of flowers and candles completed the altar.

At exactly five in the afternoon, guests started to arrive and a little after five came Father Jacob. We immediately started the house blessing. I got goose bumps all over my arm as Father Jacob started praying, the entire celebration was so solemn and so symbolic, I couldn’t ask for a better house blessing. All of us even sang as Father toured the entire house sprinkling holy water in every corner.

Of course traditions were followed, we threw coins mixed with petals of red and yellow roses from the doorway to all the guests who eagerly picked them. After all coins were picked up from the floor (they ignored the petals…. Haha), we all shared a sumptuous meal. It’s always nice to have the food that your labored to prepare appreciated.


Our house blessing, as simple as it may be, have etched fond memories to me and Junfer because it’s not only a simple gathering of friends and family but a symbol of giving thanks and welcoming our creator into our humble abode – another one of our dreams, realized. It gives me peace just to think that finally… we have made it official, God is now not only the center of our lives but also of our home.

Friday 15 February 2008

Rediscovering Amsterdam



Almost a year and half ago, my husband of one month and I were patiently waiting for our flight at the business class lounge of KLM in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport with a mounting excitement at the pit of our stomach. We had our oversized and overweight luggage mostly filled by winter jackets and thick sweaters in preparation for the frosty season that is about to welcome us in Amsterdam, the new place that we will soon be calling our home.

Although we have lived here for quite some time now, I can’t truly say that I have explored the many beautiful and popular spots that abound Amsterdam. Yes, I have been to Madurodam in The Hague which is also known as the Little Holland and I have passed by the Red Light District dozens of times, I have also been inside the Madame Tussauds but I hear a lot of people talking about a lot of different wonderful and interesting places that anyone in Amsterdam has to visit. I guess the reason why we never really took time to visit all of these fantastic places is because of the thought that we live here and we can always drop by anytime until we end up not going at all.

Well all of that was remedied upon the much awaited visit of Mama Lits, my ever sweet and cool mother in law. Her visit has been delayed by the uber long processing of her Schengen visa, and to think she applied for her visa in Dubai where she is currently staying – hmm, I wonder how much longer it would take to process it from Manila then, anyway I digress. At any rate, all’s well that ends well, she finally arrived here in Schipol Airport on the dawn of February 6. Honey and I know that she is an absolute sucker for any kind of flowers so although we were already late in picking her up from the airport, we had to drop by one of the Bloemen (Flower) shops to grab a bouquet. She absolutely loved it!

Immediately after arriving home, we dumped her bags into her room, we parted ways since I had to go to the office and Junfer took Mama Lits on a stroll around our neighborhood. I never realized that our vicinity had so many nice areas and fascinating spots. Mama Lits enjoyed the stroll immensely, she was so fascinated with the blocks and blocks of cheese that she saw at the nearby cheese house, she described the cheeses as “parang gulong ng hopper ni Jenny (my sister in law)” haha. She couldn’t stop gawking at the hundreds, even thousands, of bicycles parked everywhere near the train station and she couldn’t get enough of the multitudes of flowers that were available in every corner, hey it wouldn’t be Holland if there are no flower shops in every bend.

The following day, it was my turn to tour her around. Since she works for one of the biggest retail clothing shops in Dubai, I thought she would be interested in seeing the shopping areas here in Amsterdam. She was so excited to see brands that she was familiar with and asked to have her picture taken in front of the shops. We also dropped by the cheese house that they have visited the day before and bought half a kilo of the cheese that she liked a lot. She is definitely going to take some of that cheese back to Dubai.


Came Friday, all three of us went to Amsterdam Centraal and toured Mama Lits around. We showed her the street which is similar to Chinatown in Manila. We also explored the dodgy streets of the red light district. I couldn’t stop giggling when I saw Mama Lits reaction to the half naked ladies posing inside the big glass windows trying to lure clients inside. She was so embarrassed, her entire face was red.

Our next stop was the Dam rock, it’s where the old Royal Palace is located and other very old houses and buildings. When we first got here, the hotel that we stayed at was actually very close to this area but I never really realized how beautiful the architecture was. There were even street artists, all were imitating different effigy – one was posing as the angel of death and the other was posing as St. Peter and still the other was imitating a statue of Archangel Gabriel – very similar to the ones we saw in Barcelona.


Although I have mentioned it time and time again that Amsterdam is, hands down, one of the most beautiful cities that I have ever been to, I am now realizing that I haven’t even seen half of its beauty. Guess Amsterdam has much more surprises in store for us as we schedule other tours for Mama Lits over the next couple of days. Having someone with a fresh perspective really gives a perfect chance to rediscover a familiar territory.

Wednesday 13 February 2008

Right under my nose

Our eyes met and we couldn’t stop staring at each other as everyone else around us was fading into the background until it was just him and me. Everything stood still for a moment. I heard bells chimed from a distance and right then and there, from that moment on, I knew he is the one I will spend the rest of my life with, my knight in shining armor, my prince, my one true love. When I was a kid, this was how I imagined it would be when I finally met the guy I’m destined to spend my life with. It was many years later that I was proven wrong.

It’s as clear in my mind as if it was yesterday, it was our freshmen year in college, one of those lazy afternoons, in the middle of a crowded university grounds, we were a group of seven (my good old barkada) sitting in one of the shaded benches when one of them, D, nudged me and said “ayan ung crush ko parating!” in that giggly excited tone that made me smile. I peeled my eyes off from the book that I was trying to read and looked up to the guy walking towards the direction of our bench. She didn’t stop nudging me until I told her what I thought of him so I told her “cute, pero hindi ko type”. I had to refrain from smiling coz D was turning as red as a cherry by the second as he neared our bench. I noticed though that the guy had a girl walking next to him and D, who seems to have researched about the guy whispered to me, “girlfriend nya yan”. They have already passed and all seven of us were still staring at their backs when I reassured D by saying, “ano ka ba mas maganda ka pa sa kanya!

Three years passed, we were juniors, older but also more childish than ever. Through the years, I have become acquainted with D’s crush; he was Junfer, a popular campus figure being a student council officer and all. We mingled with the same group of people because I also became a part of the socio political group that he was in, and I also held a position in the student council although in a different term. He was also close friends with one of my barkada, Van, who was a member of the group as well (longer than I have been). Still, I was only barely aware of Junfer’s existence since D’s infatuation with him have faded through the years, we never mention him in our chats anymore. Until one day…

Everyone in campus had that light, elated feeling, a feeling that can only be triggered by the thought of another semester coming to its end. It was our last day in campus before we go on holidays. Van approached me and said, “Billiards naman daw tayo”. Having nothing else to do, and having developed a fondness for the game, I agreed. I was surprised when Junfer joined us. I thought we needed him anyway coz we were seven so we needed another to make it even. I really don’t remember how but we ended up playing against each other.

During that time, I can’t help but notice how engaging he was, he was funny, witty and quite good at billiards. He was very kind and he had very beautiful eyes that lights up when he laughs. He was very attentive and always asked if I was comfortable or if I needed more drinks. We were laughing the entire time we played. When I glanced up at Van playing against another one of our friends, both of them were giving me this meaningful looks. I approached them and both of them said “parang may firework sa table nyo ah, ingat ka baka mainlove ka dyan”. I told them that they were just crazy. When everyone decided to call it a day, Junfer approached me and asked, “gusto mo pa magbilliards, nagtext sakin si Kuya A (also a member of our organization) imeet ko daw sya sa Rob magbibiliards daw, sige na anyway wala na tayong pasok eh”. I said yes.

It was an enchanting evening. We laughed, we joked around and we realized that we both liked a lot of things like basketball (both the game and the same PBA team), billiards, movies, music and a lot more. The evening was so surreal. He even insisted on dropping me off at my place saying “ano ka ba ihahatid na kita, gabi na”.

I realized that I was so smitten when I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face long after he dropped me home, I couldn’t get his sparkling eyes out of my head, I couldn’t stop thinking of his smile. I couldn’t get enough of his jokes and above all, I get butterflies in my stomach just thinking of the next time I’ll be seeing him again.

I have always thought that I would know that the guy is “the one” for me from the moment I met him, I guess I was wrong. Little did I know that he was right there under my nose, I was just looking too far away. I have always thought that love was an instant attraction, I guess for me, I needed to look more closely. But I was certain about one thing, I knew that he is the one because everything fell right into place.

Guess I wasn’t the only one smitten. Seven years later, we got married. My very own fairytale came true.

This is my entry to the About my Recovery's Love Struck Writing Contest a perfect opportunity to share those sweet moments in time for valentines day.