Belated HBD to me! ;-P

It was my 27th birthday last Friday (the 23rd). It was a really good day for me. We started the day by jogging around the MSU Oval. We planned to start at 5:30 in the morning (that's the usual time MSUans start jogging), but we woke up at around 5:40. The sun was already up and my mom was teasing us about being too late. We still went. It was really fun. I loved how my day got off to a healthy start. Hehehe:)

In the afternoon, we had the Ode to the Meranao: A Poetry Concert. We pulled a very good show despite the fact that the audience was much less than we expected. I felt really proud of my kids as each one of them read their pieces. My mind travelled back to the time when I was one of the readers and I'd feel so proud reading for my people. It was such a great feeling and I'd like to think that my readers also felt the same pride. In our own little way, we wanted to infect others with the love and the pride we have for our place, our lake, our people. That was our main purpose in having such activity.

My birthday was also made extra special because my favorite and closest cousin, Aya, came to visit. She stayed with us for three nights. We did nothing, but have fun and catch up. We hadn't hung out for a loooong time before that so it was sort of a long overdue reunion for us. We talked, laughed, cried, played games, sang, etc. We realized that a lot had changed yet some things (especially good ones) never changed. It felt like no time had passed with us apart. I realized how lucky I am to have someone like her in my life. It's really important for everyone to have that one person in our lives from whom we can always gather strength, that one person that becomes the wall that we can lean on anytime. I know that because Aya is all that and more to me.

I'd like to post a poem I wrote for her on her last birthday (January 27, 2007). I wanted to write about how I felt about life away from home, away from the people I love most in the world. Here's what I came up with. :)

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Lost

Away I went to find myself,
Not knowing where, not knowing how,
Away where life was not unkind.

Kissed what I thought was the sun,
Amid the laughter and the bliss;
Ran through fields and fields of gold
Like there was no tomorrow, no night.
Alas! There, I found myself not!

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--Thank you, Lizard Twin, for everything. Life wouldn't be as nice if you weren't there. :)