I’ve been a bad, bad, godmother. For three years in a row, and not intentionally, I haven’t made my presence felt to any of my god children. So lost in my own Christmas that I cant even remember the names of some. This year, I made a conscious effort to put them at the head of my presents list and make up for the times when gifts from their ninang were only a wish in their minds.
I delivered the last presents this evening to Nicole, my best friend’s niece, before going to the office for a dinner with my teammates who are reporting as on-site support for the holidays. It was already late, around ten, and I thought the little girl is already lost in dreamland. I was surprised to see her by her dad’s side as he opened the door and welcomed me in. I wanted to just leave the gifts and let her guess in the morning whom it could possibly be from.
I cant quite say if Nicole was happy for the gifts or if she was just excited to see me. She was calling out to her mother as we were climbing up the stairs to their living room, “My ninang is her to visit me!”. Not the gifts, but the arrival of her long lost ninang was the announcement. I was caught between guilt for the Christmases that I disappointed her and delight for her obvious happiness by my mere visit.
Christmas is really for children. The look in their eyes for a simple gesture of goodwill is enough to lighten up a room. Nicole’s smile was heartwarming and I made a vow to always remember her, along with my other god children, especially on holidays and on their birthdays. Afterall, it doesn’t take much to make them happy. I takes just a visit to let them know they are remembered; the wrapped present is only a bonus.
I just learned this morning that one of our dogs in the province recently crossed the rainbow bridge. Juanito, whose brother Toinks went before him a few weeks back, was the latest casualty succumbing to severe arthritis and old age.
I don’t ever remember a time when we didnt have dogs. They are like members of the family who never spoke but shared their lives without any reservations. Once in a while they raised havoc, caused property damage, fought among themselves, but always stuck by their masters no matter what.
It’s sad that their lives are so much shorter than ours. But in their short lives lies a valuable lesson to face each day with renewed enthusiasm and to be loyal to those who really matter.
I am comforted by the fact that they wont have to endure pain any longer, that they are in safer and happier place, where they are reunited with their old pals, Juan and Nano who passed away a year earlier. I will miss your perennial presence around the house, your dark furs, your barks, even your smells.
Farewell, our doggie friends. I hope you know that we are saddened by your passing. Enjoy your new life in the land over the rainbow bridge.
( That’s Perere’s paw. I cant find a photo of Juanito and Toinks.)
Tags: Dogs
Last Saturday night was our company’s Christmas Party and I took the SLR camera to practice my limited photo shooting skill on the different inter-departmental presentations. The theme for this year’s celebration is Project Runway and almost everybody was either in paparazzi or fashion critic mode.
As we were waiting for the models to parade down the runway, my teammate taught me a simple camera trick to create different color formations. First was to adjust the speed setting at around 5″+, then focus on a light source (in this case, the blue and red colored light bulbs), take a shot then shake the camera while it processes the image. Here are some that came out:
You can never be too careful with pets. At this very instant, I am typing with a bandaged index finger, sore arms and legs. That’s all because of this cute, cuddly, and seemingly well-behaved little doggie named Wilson.
It has been our routine to take Wilson for his weekly walks to MOA (Mall of Asia) and this evening we decided to park near the newly opened section of the bay area or more popularly known as Esplanade. Most of the restaurants have not opened business yet so the only crowd were two pairs of lovers getting intimately cozy in the semi-darkness. The place suited us perfectly… no kids or big dogs and we’re free to roam around without interruptions.
A few minutes and a panting-dog later, we decided to move to the San Miguel View By The Bay to get a photo of the newly erected Christmas Tree. Mark suggested that I walk Wilson on the way there while he transfers the car to the nearest parking. While walking, Wilson saw a group of kids eating their dinner by the side of their car. Being the food fan that he is, he darted to their direction with all his might and dragged on his leash. And that’s when it happened… I was restraining him when I stepped on a stone, lost my balance and landed heavily on my two hands like a frog, my fingers scratching the hard cement surface and peeling off the skin on my index. I could not get up immediately, it was a pretty bad fall and I guess I was stunned. A little dog dragging his master on her knees… what a sight. The strap on my right sandal snapped and worse, I had to walk three blocks more and look for Mark. With blood trickling down my finger, bruised palms, and disheveled hair, I slowly proceeded, pretended that nothing’s wrong and still tried to smile at the people who ogled in amusement at our willful dog.
I found Mark all excited to take pictures but I was no longer in the mood. I was mad at Wilson, mad at myself for falling, mad for having to walk with the torn sandal. Finally I wasn’t able to hold it in any longer and tears spilled out. Then realizing that a small dog caused all this mess, Mark and I looked at each other and laughed. Crazy. That ended what could have been a fun night of strolling and taking photos.
I received this video from one of my officemates and warned that I might end up crying after watching it. True enough, I was all tears as it brought back memories of Perere.
