Hi! Hive family and friends! I hope you are having a fine time reading this blog. Another friend and a colleague of my wife invited us for a natal celebration.
Since then, when our friends knew our present struggles in life, we received a lot of invitations from them for us to unwind and avoid the negative effect of overthinking. Even if we had some time to refresh our minds, we cannot deny the fact that we can still feel emptiness and sadness. But we are glad we have plenty of friends who really think of our welfare. Though they can't help us financially, they think of ways that can divert our attention to the beautiful situation of our lives. Situations that are worth celebrating with true, loving, and caring friends.
Last Thursday, we received an invitation from Ma'am Kate, a friend and colleague of my wife. She's also the adviser of our son, Ioseph, in the 2nd grade. They were celebrating the 50th birthday of her husband, Sir Melvin, an administrative assistant at Loreto Remedios Montebon National High School. This is one of the schools for which I created a logo. At first, we declined to come since we were planning to visit a friend in Danao City. But due to some unexpected activities, we failed to continue our plan and decided to attend the occasion.
Ma'am Kate ordered a tray of eggs and told my wife to come and celebrate with them the 50 wonderful years of her husband. My wife weighed the eggs and cleaned them with vinegar to remove some stains due to dung. When she finished, she placed it on the shelf, ready to deliver. We went inside the bedroom to have some rest. I needed it the most since I was suffering short breaths lately.
Ma'am Kate's yard. I like their golden pothos plant which climbed to a tree trunk.
We waited until five in the afternoon. When Ma'am Kate messaged that food was ready, we went to their house, which is located in the heart of Tabogon Town. When we arrived, some of the Tabogon Central School teachers were already there. We waited for the others to arrive and had some conversation. They talked about the work during this alternative delivery mode, commonly known as modular distance learning. The Governor of Cebu, Gwendolyn Garcia, won't lift her order to suspend face-to-face classes since the province is experiencing a severe heat index.
It is very difficult to have this kind of delivery mode right now, especially since the school's budget is not intended for module printing. But luckily, some of the parents in our school attended the 3rd Quarter Meeting and were able to understand the idea of giving activities using group chats in Facebook Messenger. Other teachers also utilized Google Classroom to deliver the Most Essential Learning Competencies aside from the given weekly activities.
We sang a happy Birthday song to Sir Melvin.
When other visitors arrived, ma'am Kate told us to have a photo opportunity before partaking in the meal. I refused to join and just decided to take the photos for them. After that, they requested that I will pray for blessing the food that they had prepared. On occasions like this, they usually request that I will be the one to pray for blessing the food, that's why I call myself a prayer leader for banquets. LOLZ. I prayed for our gratitude that God allowed us to gather to celebrate the 50 wonderful years of Sir Melvin with his family. I even prayed that God would bless the food so that it could provide the nourishment that our body needs. A blessing for those who prepared it and a blessing for our fellowship together as one community of friends.
We took our dinner, and our kids were enjoying their meal with other kids. Minutes have passed, and Tabogon Chief of Police and Vice Mayor Alivio, along with his wife, also came to celebrate Sir Melvin's birthday. Five or six police officers were also present at that time. I almost forgot to finish my food. I thought it was just a little, but maybe because I was so stressed, I can't feed myself well. I told my wife that I was having a headache and that we would not stay any longer there. But they are not yet finished eating, so I just waited.
After we took our dinner, they asked for a sineguelas, or Spanish plum. They were enjoying their dessert as they paired it with some salt. I did not eat it because I was not feeling well. I really wanted to go home and have some rest. So when it was 6:00 o'clock in the evening, we bid goodbye to Ma'm Kate and Sir Melvin. We thank them for allowing us to be part of this once-in-a-lifetime celebration, the 50th birthday.
When we were about to go out the gate, the police officers were also leaving with us. Before we headed home, we stopped at the pharmacy to buy some stuff that my in-law asked us to purchase. We also bought slippers for Ioseph at a market stall that he will be wearing the next day. We planned to go to Cebu City to buy make-up sets intended for the completion and graduation pictorial. Another friend invited us to go to SM City Cebu so that my wife would be the one to choose the needed items. She wants us to bring our kids so that we can have quality time together and release our stress.
It was indeed a memorable event for Ma'am Kate's family. It is worth celebrating since not all of us have the opportunity to live 50 years here on earth. I was reminded that our lives belong to God. It must be valued and appreciated. If others value our presence when they need us the most, I hope they will also value and appreciate the help we gave to resolve their problems. They will not let pride rule over their lives and act as if they did nothing that led us into a painful situation. I just hope and pray. I want a peaceful life, as I planned with my wife for our family.
Let's be grateful and celebrate the wonderful years.
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Lead image was edited using Canva.
Other images were taken by me
using Samsung A73 phone.