I Just Want September Back

WOW THAT WAS fast. Where did all the days of September go? I want them all back.

          October went in a breeze and November currently makes strides.

          I write this 29 days before Christmas and the countdown is driving me crazy. Even ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol has it at the end of the news program! And their heart-warming Christmas Station ID is an indication that, indeed, Christmas is fast approaching!

                                              

STOP THE COUNTDOWN. This brightly lit wreath (above)

adorns the door of Favorite Finds, a repository of antique furniture and other

items located inside Sonya’s Garden in Tagaytay. My favorite stars (below), Piolo Pascual

and the love team of Jodi Santamaria and Richard Yap are featured

in ABS-CBN’s heart-warming Christmas station ID. Both are

indications that Christmas is on its way and there’s no stopping it.

         As most of the rest of the year is gone, I really wish September would come back. Not next year but now …

        If you can’t understand what I am being so overdramatic about, let me tell you that the said month, which happens to be my birth month, was spent in Singapore, Tagaytay and several other favorite places with my favorite people, led by my, not one, but two daughters, and New York-based cousin Luis who came to visit.

          Milestones in the family also took place during this 30-day period.  New memories simply piled up.

        So what’s NOT to like in September …

SINGAPORE STATE OF MIND

        The month kicked off with a trip to Singapore. This was about the time I started writing my thoughts in between packing my bags. In so many words, I described how excited I am to be going to back to this city-state which I first visited in the early 1990s as part of my job back then.

        Of course, I expounded on how excited I am as daughter Ghiselle and I will be meeting up with another daughter, Pee Ann, who’s coming to visit from Canada – definitely a grand reunion for  the Nario girls. Then I realized I was using the word “excited” too many times and I stopped.

        On the way to the airport, I contemplated on doing a blow-by-blow account of this trip. Arriving in Singapore and checking in at the Marina Bay Sands, I couldn’t help but scribble on the hotel’s stationery –

        Ooops, there goes that word again in another form – from excited to excitement … I seem to be stuck with the word. Once more, I shelve the idea of writing while doing this trip and concentrate on simply having fun. Besides, I already write for a living, I need a break …

          Finally, all plans to do some journaling were totally set aside and I simply embraced the moment and went into a Singapore state of mind …

                                                  

SINGAPORE STATE OF MIND. Bright lights, impressive architecture,

a refreshing view of the bay and its surrounding gardens, and us,

Nario girls: A perfect combination for a fantastic family holiday and something

different from our usual but equally memorable “by the beach” moments.

ON TOP OF THE WORLD

      Tonight, as the countdown for Christmas goes into full swing, I just have to accept the fact that there’s really no stopping it. Still, I’m not ready for it and I really want to go back to the 30 days of September –

          And return to Singapore, stay at the Marina Bay Sands, and swim in its infinity pool on top of the world.

                                            

SWIMMING ON TOP of the world at the Marina

Bay Sands … Cool waters, breathtaking view …

          To celebrate my birthday all over again, eat two kinds of Awfully Chocolate birthday cakes courtesy of my daughters’ childhood friend, Jeng-Jeng, and pig out on chilli crabs with freshly baked buns at the Jumbo Seafood at Clarke Quay.

GETTING A YEAR BOLDER

      To experience getting bolder – and not merely getting older – as I conquer my fear of heights and all those rides I have avoided all my life. To take the Cable Car ride, dangle my feet and feel the wind in the Sky Ride, and test my grip in the Luge. 

                                                    

(Above) THE OFFICIAL Cable Car souvenir photo: All smiles as the car

stops at Mount Faber after the first leg of the scary but exhilarating

ride. The view is always best from the top it’s true. (Below) Different

reactions while in the SkyRide: Me freaking out; Marcus sweating

a bit … and finally our nerves settling down and enjoying the high ride.

        To be transformed into a seven-year old and meet Donkey from the movie Shrek and be thrilled as he swears in grandson Marcus as a bona fide ogre!

If only his lola, my sister Patty, knew what he has promised to be officially declared an ogre: “… to always shower in the mud … to always pass gas in public.”

                                                

MARCUS is sworn in as a bona fide little ogre by Donkey from the Shrek

movie and proves to be a hilarious but proud moment for all of us. Feeling

like a seven-year old myself, I try on an all-pink eyes hat …

          To scream all the way to kingdom come while on the Transformers ride, covering myself from flying objects or what seems like an explosion.

          To scream some more as I seem to be falling down a building or about to collide with something including a helicopter or the vehicle we’re riding in is rammed to another building or something else until the luminous hands of Bumblebee or Optimus Prime stop the fall and say “You’re saved/safe now.”

MY NEW HEROES: Optimus Prime and Bumblebee.

TAGAYTAY HANGOVER

      After going through a Singapore state of mind, a Tagaytay hangover followed.

          We spent a weekend there – my daughters and sister Patty and brother-in-law Sonny – and how I wish we could have stayed longer.

          What’s not to love in the city of Tagaytay ...

        Its weather is gentle. The landscape is a rainbow of colors, from lush green to bright shades and deep hues with all those blooming flowers and aromatic pine trees and rows of pineapple plants. Of course, there’s the breath-taking presence of Taal Volcano and Lake.

          Just by looking at the entire scenery and being in the middle of it give you a sense of serenity.

 

          And then there’s more …

          Sonya’s Garden, where we had ourselves pampered with a full body massage for us adults, and a foot spa for my girls. At night, the fantastic place becomes illuminated as it is transformed into a starry wonderland with the sound of crickets and the soft tinkling of glass chimes after being blown by the night breeze.

        The Wingate Manor, where we stayed the night. 

          The Memory Lane, which we chanced upon after checking out at Wingate. The place is like an old American country house – exactly my kind of dream house! – and we said we will stay here the next time we’re in Tagaytay. One of the staff, however, informed us they have no accommodations. They are simply a restaurant with a salon and a souvenir shop.  The place, by the way, is owned by actress/singer Jolina Magdangal.

          The Cliffhouse, which has a bunch of restaurants, including Fire Lake Grill, where we had our lunch; and Mochiko, where we had a dessert of round but really tasty ice cream. 

          The Bag of Beans, which we visited for pasalubong and more dessert.  I especially like the place because of its rustic atmosphere – all those big plants and cozy cabanas and wooden antique furniture. 

           Of course, there’s the Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, where we attended Sunday mass, which has a vantage view of scenic Taal. I thanked God for the many beautiful places He has created.

          Most of all, I expressed my utmost gratitude for all the people He has put in my world – my daughters, my family, my friends – and for the many blessings that He continues to give us.

 

 

18 WAYS TO ROCK

      September also proved to be Family Month and in my family, family is big deal. There I go again, using one word too many times … but then that’s exactly what I want to express.

                                                             

THE FAMILY reunion continues after Kim’s debut: Staying

overnight at Island Cove and extending our bonding moments while laughing

our hearts out and food tripping at Fishing Village,

all captured in an endless photo shoot …

          Presenting itself as the perfect excuse for a grand reunion – aside from Pee Ann’s homecoming – was niece and inaanak Kim’s debut party at the Island Cove Hotel & Leisure Park in Kawit, Cavite.

          It was a genuine coming out party for Kim as she chose an ala  rock concert theme. She was an amazing revelation, starting the party with her grand performance of that popular Katy Perry song Firework. She played the guitar and in her turquoise gown with matching Chucks, she surprised everybody – including friends who found her “just quiet,”

and, most specially us her family, who always have to short of bulldoze her to play the guitar during get-togethers … and there she was singing as well to a capacity crowd!

          Just like the lyrics of the song she sang, there’s a spark in you, you just gotta ignite the light and let it shine … just own the night …

      She did own the night and shone in her performance as she showed everyone she is now 18 years old and she truly rocks!

                                                 

KIM TRULY rocks at 18 and so with the rest of the

Reclusado family. Brother Noldy makes a rockin’ performance, too!

          The event was one big celebration as family – specifically the Reclusado clan – got together once more. We partied like rock stars and we had great fun!

          It was also thethirdpartyplanners’ first debut project and we are happy it went on as expected. More than the success of the event was the friendship among my friends and business partners, Apple, Charity and Leah, which deepened while working on the project. They likewise became part of my family. 

                                                

thethirdpartyplanners, my moonlighting team with Lea,

Charity and Apple with brother Noldy, who emceed the debut event

with Lea: Good job for us and it was definitely a fun activity!

 

          I have this beautiful passage from my collection of quotes which says, “Being a family means you are a part of something very wonderful. It means you will be loved for the rest of your life. No matter what.”

          In the case of my family, we will not just be loved but we will always have fun together for the rest of our lives. And yes, no matter what …  

BABIES & BLESSINGS

        September likewise brought more blessings to the family in the form of babies.

          As I was celebrating my birthday in Singapore, Jam, my look-alike niece, gave birth to her first-born, baby boy James Phillip, endearly called Pipoy.

                         

BABY BOY PIPOY makes my brother Noldy a brand-new lolo …

          As Kim turned 18, Chelo, another niece, announced that she was three months on the way.

                                

CHELO SHOWS her baby bump to the family

for the first time during Kim’s debut.

          Carl Sandburg has said, “A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.”

          Kate Douglas Wiggin, for her part, affirmed that “every child born into the world is a new thought of God, an ever-fresh and radiant possibility.”

          With this, the Reclusado family goes on and so with the world. These babies are definitely God’s ever-fresh and radiant possibilities.

ON TO THE NEXT MEMORIES …

        And I reach this part when it finally sinks in that September is sooooooooo history. I surely miss it as much as I miss daughter Pee Ann and cousin Luis, who are now back in Canada and New York, respectively. But then we stay in touch and through the magic of technology, it’s as if they are not really far away.

          September was one big great memory – a moment of spontaneity and calmness, despite the noise of laughter and bubbly talk. And we will surely see each other again in the coming months of the coming years.

          December beckons and so with Christmas and the New Year and Valentine’s and all those special occasions. It’s time to move on and move forward to making new memories.

        There’s no point in trying to turn back the hands of time.