Celebrating one of the best Holidays ever!

It's a little fishing town in Antique, a province known for being one of the gateways to Boracay. Simple, remote, extremely slow. It's such an effort to get to, but we persevere, for in this tiny town sits a house big in love.

The house is Lola's, and all my mom's sisters', and all my cousins'. We congregated here for the new year, with some of us making the trip soon after the 25th of December and others catching up the following weekend. This year was more than special because it's the first time in three years that one of my aunts would be home with my cousins. Tita Dodong, Joey and Anton arrived last month and spent the holidays here. So we tried to get (almost) everyone together to spend the new year there.

So what did we do in the days leading up to the festivities? We played Cranium, ate every two to three hours, watched movies, told stories, ate every two to three hours, talked around the table, ate every two to three hours, played tickling games, watched videos, ate every two to three hours, cooked, ate every two to three hours, and just had fun being with one another. This was a rare treat, because the family was almost compete.

It was a rare treat as well for Benc and me, because we didn't have to pick up after ourselves for a change. Someone cooked for us, even prepared coffee for us. We could sit in the garden all day and not think of anything. We entertained ourselves by drawing pictures with felt-tipped pens on our littlest cousins.

In my Lola's house, we get to be the spoiled brats we all want to be. We are allowed to laze in the lanai to our heart's content, raid the fridge, empty out the junk food storage cabinets, and sleep. The environment allows us to explore. We can walk to the beach and watch the sunsets. We see stars at night, breathe in clean air in the morning (if we get up before 11 am) and all day long. Since I am the eldest of the cousins, and the first one to be married, there is a slight apart-ness from the rest. But this is all right. In fact, it's quite expected. Besides my siblings, I don't really have a kabarkada my age among my cousins. But I do have baby cousins to dote on, and this is what I enjoy the most.

I enjoy watching them play and hearing their innocent though acerbic banter. It's surprising what 6 to 10 year olds can say these days. Definitely, each generation is smarter than the previous one. I also enjoy seeing my siblings and my cousin Joey's reunion. They were the tightest gang. It was heartwarming to see them all fooling around the house, the way they used to when they were kids. It brings back feelings of security and fun and friendship. I also made it a point to join my aunts and Lola at breakfast so I could hear their stories and tell some of my own. I don't know why (and my siblings sometimes don't get it) I enjoy sitting with them even though I don't necessarily agree with most of their opinions. I suppose I like the connection and animated exchanges. Plus, they're not really the kind of aunts and uncles who are of the "seen and not heard" school of thought. They engage me, and I take that as a sign of respect.

Oh! How age and time make one wax nostalgic. Indulge me. It's just that these are rare moments, and we don't really know when this can happen again. And I am attempting to cling to the few moments of relaxation and comfort I had before I plunge headlong into my daily routines again. You can say I'm having holiday hangover. I wish I had a better camera, and more energy to capture every image. I should start investing in a video camera, and soon.

At least my phone has some photos, and I find myself clicking through the gallery to review the photos and try to remember the conversations that took place behind those frozen frames. I can't help but retell the stories, and for Benc to add to them. It's as if these help us recharge. I'm hoping the energy gained will be enough to get me through the next three difficult months.

I missed my cousins and Lola and aunts the moment I bid them goodbye. I hope to return when we get back from Oz. Though it would only be less than a year, it's funny how you realize how much time one didn't spend with others when you were closer geographically. The time spent with them in those 4 short days suddenly become more meaningful. But then I don't think I would have it any other way; it makes everything more priceless, and every new opportunity to visit more exciting. Little town, big love. It's one of the best vacations I've had. I can't wait to have more.