Pamparo in Toronto

We will have a chance of celebrating Christmas and greeting the new year a little earlier than our family & friends here in North America. I will be on my way to the Philippines tonight. My wife and my son are there already about a week ahead of me. And I really, really miss them both. Really, no kidding!

While this is not the first time that I am going back there, this is the first time in 11 years that I will be spending Christmas & New Year in Manila. It’s a little bittersweet for me since my father died early this year. We have been planning this trip since middle of last year and are really looking forward to it. It would have been the first time that my father would have seen his first-ever grandson (my sister has 3 daughters)! Alas, the Lord has other plans. I pray that this trip would be a time to ease my grief a lot more.

Anyway, I hope that you will all have a meaningful Christmas and I pray that you will have a prosperous & blessed new year!

Today would have been his 53rd birthday. But alas, there is no one on the other line when I tried to call him. And this will be the case every year for the rest of my days. But this is in no way a hindrance for me and everyone who loves him to celebrate his birthday, his life & his legacy.

Happy Birthday Tatay!