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Manila Bulletin devider Opinion devider Reunions

Reunions

Published Aug 30, 2025 12:05 am  |  Updated Aug 29, 2025 06:33 pm
MEDIUM RARE
Reunion: Social gathering, esp. of people formerly associated (Oxford Dictionary of Current English).
It may or may not be the season for reunions, for there is no such “season,” is there? A reunion happens when a group with similar backgrounds, tastes and inclinations decide to meet for no other purpose than to meet. Our group is a small one, with names as classic as Belen, Milagros, Socorro, and Teodosia, and it became smaller after we lost Marsha some years ago.
Last week, Teodosia blew into town from the US. No sooner had we welcomed her with a lunch at Belen’s favorite restaurant with a wall-to-wall luncheon buffet (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish food!) —her condo is on top of a swimming spa — than Socorro followed up with an invitation to lunch within the next few days on the patio of her multistorey residence in Parañaque. From lunching in the midst of an island of swimming pools to dining on the rooftop of a high-rise, how much more variety, or adventure, can a balikbayan want?
Like many balikbayans, Teodosia — call her Teddie — had her schedule crowded with appointments — I’d call them tasks, such as conferring with relatives in Manila and her hometown (a good four hours away by car), meeting up with former classmates like us, whom she could not say no to.
And before you knew it, it would be time to wind up and start packing for the trip back home. I doubt if Teddie would even have the time to shop for made-in-the-PH souvenirs at places like Kultura and Papemelroti. Why, it would be news to me to hear that she’s had time to watch the news, bad and good, on TV.
The good news is that she’s promised Socorro to keep another day free for us, sometime next week, when her relatives would be willing to share her with us. As someone noted, Filipinos have the most relatives, real and extended — anywhere on the planet!
Not only are they No. 1 in family size, real and extended, they’re the warmest and the celebratingest, because they’ll always find life a reason to celebrate.
Teodosia, will you miss us just a little bit when you board the plane that will take you back to your family?
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