I have been looking for reasons to be happy. Christmas was my favorite day before I went abroad. It’s supposed to be the happiest time of the year, at least, I was accustomed to it.
At ten in the morning I’d wake up. I’m smelling my dad’s cooking. He’s probably making laing for lunch. We would eat around the table and laugh a lot, share stories.
At two PM everyone’s busy. There’s my sister preparing spaghetti, my step mom cooking menudo, my dad cooking lechong kawali, and the rest of the family grilling the barbecue.
At eight, everything’s prepared. My dad and step mom would be having some last minute shopping at the grocery for drinks and ice cream.
We’ll be singing since we rented karaoke and then just have fun.
That was my Christmas last year. It makes me teary eyed while I’m typing this. Christmas this year is different.
I’m broke because salary’s at the end of the month. My friend borrowed money from me and told me that she’ll pay me back last 15. So… Broke.
All my plans for Christmas was shattered. I planned on taking my mom to a restaurant for dinner. I wasn’t able to.
We just made the most out of what we had.
At ten, I woke up, ate breakfast and cleaned the apartment. I watched friends, video chatted with family in PH and then spent a lot of time on social media.
At seven, mom cooked omelette. We ate dinner and then headed to central world to take some pictures. We took a lot of pictures beside the massive tree, with Santa Claus, and everything else christmassy.
At eleven we bought street food and went home.
I went back to my social media world, posted pics, and slept.
I tried my best to be happy and I think I pretty much convinced myself that I was happy. It’s a lot different but it’s enough for me.
kate samaniego 