Alex M. Eduque
Christmas is here again
November 15, 2024 4:01 pm
And the hymn rings true! Christmas is looming about. The rush, and holidaze is so real. The streets are decked out in lights, nights are filled with tree lightings one after the other, the carols and tunes are playing on the radio, merchandise have taken precious shelf space, Christmas parties are beginning, and the Christmas lists are being written out. It has been a while since I have been home to enjoy the full season of a Filipino Christmas — meaning, since September. Since I lived abroad the past three years, we would make it home a few weeks before. And though there will never be any Christmas like one here at home, I am reminded of that all the more so this year.
Remembering and reminiscing
November 01, 2024 4:51 pm
With remembering the fondest of memories oftentimes comes reminiscing them as well. And when we relive moments with our dearly beloved, we tend to become nostalgic we continue tradition so that it can be introduced and passed on to new generations. Special occasions often trigger these – whether it be birthdays, Christmas, or All Saints’ and Souls’ Day – and though it definitely takes more than a day to pay our respects, pray, and reminisce, doing so right before the holiday season, and to welcome the month of November is actually something observed worldwide.
An October for others
October 05, 2024 4:02 pm
It’s October! Which means we are two months closer to December. The frantic frenzy of the holidays mixed in with life is definitely at its peak. Socials are back to back, and this week, we saw the filing of candidacies for the elections in May. Every sector has its own set of happenings, and as we try to keep up, we often forget about finding meaningfulness in our every day. We succumb to the grind of things, and tend to operate on routine and auto-pilot.
If there is anything I took away from the slow living days of the pandemic that I would like to continue to imbibe and embody, it is finding the sunshine even on the darkest of days – to continue to make memories in the mundane, and to find joy in the smallest of moments. October is the month of the Holy Rosary. It is a month for others.
A blessed birthday bliss
September 13, 2024 4:02 pm
I was blessed to be hit by the opposite of birthday blues this year. What I choose to call birthday bliss came upon me as I had early and extended celebrations of sorts. It has been four years since I last celebrated my birthday in the Philippines, and that last time was 2020. Prior to that, I had last celebrated in 2016 as I was traveling in 2017, 2018 and 2019. My days leading up to, and the weekend after my birthday was dinner clad. Though tiring, it was great to be able to welcome 34 (especially after the amazing year 33 was) with friends near and dear, most especially those who share in faith and prayer.
Hello, thirty-four
August 30, 2024 4:08 pm
On my last weekend as a 33-year-old, if I were to describe this past year, it would definitely be “life changing.” There would be no other more apt description. That’s what motherhood does to you. On my 33rd birthday last year, I wrote an Instagram post, that said “big, bold, great, life-changing and all things amazing you will be, 33.” To say the very least, it sure was all of that, and so much more.