The Rush to Christmas (2010)

---

Just a few more days and it is Christmas. I have not done any serious Christmas shopping, and feel happy for it. There are far more important things to do, ei? Naaah, I was simply plain lazy . Been so for many past Christmases.

Merry Christmas to Everyone!

Before long, my Sydney-based niece will be here to spend the holidays with us. That makes one set of family complete. Another set stays (complete) with my sister in Sydney, Australia. My 2 close friends/sisters are spending the holidays together too in Washington DC, so that makes a 3rd set complete. And of course, my other close friends are here in Manila just a phone call and a short drive away. It's almost a year ago when my family spent the holidays in Boracay (Christmas Stars in Boracay )---- how time flies!


Christmas! It is in the air. It is in the traffic jams that have become daily fare in the rush towards Christmas. I can't wait for the days AFTER Christmas when the crowds thin, and the roads are almost empty and quiet. Those are the days when the adults stay home, drained and tired. Pockets wasted. Stomachs too full and bloated of excesses. Just once, I brought the little ones to the park. We stayed on for the Christmas lights and for dinner. Too crowded. It was like everyone was there. I long for peace and quiet. The spas beckon. I look forward to those gentle massaging fingers and the lovely scent of aromatic candles. Simple dinners at home.


The excesses of Christmas almost dim its true meaning. But I won't get into that in this blog. I simply know that it requires a good dose of self-discipline not to succumb to these excesses and to drain one's energy on unimportant stuff. I love the holiday spirit, but it won't overwhelm me and my family.

Farewell 2010

Looking back, I am eager to leave 2010. As my little ones would say, this year's summer was their worst. I was simply too busy, bogged down by the election fever, too exhausted before and more so after the May elections. I lost a lot of energy there. We lost. But I gained many friends, mostly young volunteers whose idealism I admire. I have become Tita Lili to them. ( Tita

Villa Escudero

means auntie in our language) Just that I may be too old for all this hype. From travel blogging, I dove head on into political blogging/writing and campaigning. I ended up not liking myself too much after all's over. Politics drew out my bad side. Makes you all so passionate about your convictions, compels you to speak ill of others, and then when it is all over, regrets set in. Naaah, this is not my cuppa. I would much rather blog about my travels. Worse, going around the country made me forget my diet and partake of every region's delicacy. Way too much fooooooood. (Eating Around the Philippines: Lechon, Max's Fried Chicken, Kare Kare, Adobo, Pinakbet, Tinola and Balut! )


Thank God I managed to squeeze in a few trips during the year. And a family trip AFTER the elections. (Shanghai Expo 2010: Asia, Middle East and the Pacific ) Plus a trip I sneaked in to surprise some visiting friends. (The Inside Story: Some Unfinished Business @World Expo in Shanghai ) Then a get together sort of trip with friends from long ago. (Crawling Up and Down the Temples in Siem Reap ) I so love the domestic trips we made too (Villa Escudero: A Real Farmville and Marooned in an Island in Davao ) And more trips planned as we welcome the year 2011.


Hey, that wasn't bad after all. But the year 2011 will soon set in. Bhutan. Cyprus. Lebanon? Who knows? My heart is happy.


Merry Christmas, everyone!

---