Another Year Older

Happiest of birthdays to my dearest hub and Marti and Zach's super dad, Minoy! May the Lord continue to bless you with good health, a stable and rewarding job, finances (a little more than) enough for our needs, a loving family and a fab wife. :) And may all your good intentions come true!



Love you, mo!

Celebrating Daddy

today is the 70th anniversary of the day Daddy was born. and although he is no longer with us physically, we are celebrating his special day with a mass and dinner. he was, after all, one of the family's greatest and most special blessings! and we were actually making plans for this day right after Mama's 70th in August 2009. this was something we all looked forward to until that one very sad day when he figured in a tragic accident and passed on.

ours was not the typical or usual father-daughter relationship. we were not demonstrative and expressive of our love for each other. but although he rarely said his 'i love yous', i felt his great love for us through everything he did for me (and my siblings) and me and my family. he was always one who'd do anything and everything to make us happy. he always provided for our needs (and wants). he always acted promptly on something as soon as he knew we wanted it. he was a very good provider.

Daddy was also Mr. Handyman. he could do anything ---- from being a plumber, mechanic, carpenter, electrician to being a good cook, among many other things he does best for us. And he was very supportive of all our activities and took pride in all our achievements. he was even proud of Marti being able to speak English and got really happy with Zach's antics.

as we celebrate his birthday, i thank the Lord for blessing us with a wonderful father like Daddy.

Dy, i know it's too late to tell you all these but please let me. words are not enough to express my gratitude and appreciation for being the very loving and caring father that you were to us. you seldom told us you loved us but your actions spoke a lot. i miss the kind of love you showered me, Minoy, Marti and Zach and i am sad at the thought that no one else can love us the way you did. thank you so much, Dy, for all the sacrifices you made to make us happy and thank you for being so proud of each of us. words are also not enough to tell you how sorry i am for the times i made you feel less loved and unwanted. although you are no longer here to hear me, i want you to know that you were never a burden to us. we can never repay everything you have done for all of us. Dy, i guess i never got to tell you how proud i am of your achievements. and thank you so much for the lovely home you left us with. don't worry about us not having a car back home, we can manage. i miss you oh so terribly, Dy. i never thought i could miss you this much but i do and it will take a long time for me to not cry (the way i am crying now) anymore. i continue to pray for your eternal rest and i wish you a very happy 70th birthday up there!

(our last pic with Daddy taken on Marti's 4th birthday, September 27, 2009)

my 2009

been wanting to write my 2009 year-ender but never got the time. and now that i have, it's not long enough to allow me to write a very detailed entry. :)

join me in looking back at the year that just ended:

* Daddy's 69th birthday. we threw him a surprise birthday dinner at Laguna Garden which ended up with him actually not surprised because one of my cousins made a slip and mentioned our plan to him.

* Minoy's 37th birthday. I also organized a surprise birthday dinner for him but I got pissed he wasn't that pleased because he was thinking of my expenses. :)

* Valentine's day spent with family. My only brother as well as aunts and cousins from Surigao were in town and instead of going out on a date, we dined out like one baranggay. :)

* My li'l sis' and Nap's church wedding. It was very intimate and meaningful. One beautiful wedding which made me cry. :)

* Trip to Bantayan where Zach had an advance birthday party. After a week there, we headed to Bacolod for a 2-night stay. It was my first time to travel by land to Bacolod.

* Zach's 2nd birthday. Per my dad's special request, we held the party in our hometown in Surigao. He spent for our (a party of 7) plane fare and the party. It was lavish.

* My one-month leave of absence from work. This is big deal for me because it's hard to go on leave when you work for BPOs.

* Convergys' grand as in grand summer outing. I was amazed because at my previous employer, the budget for summer outing was just enough to buy 2 Señor Pedro lechon manok.

* Family bonding at Maribago Bluewater Resort. Another big deal for me because I can't normally afford staying there. Thanks to my sis and brother-in-law, we were able to sleep at their Amuma suite.

* My first year anniv at Convergys. Never thought I would last a year knowing how different the work schedule was from my previous job.

* Mama's 70th birthday. We had an intimate but very special celebration at Alegre Beach resort in Sogod.

* Marti's 4th birthday. I will always be thankful for the miracle of her life. She brought her classmates a Jollibee meal of chicken and spag, a Dora cake from Angelica and lots of goodies. As always, Lolo sponsored the 'party'.

* The end to corporate slavery. :) On October 13th, I finally granted the hub's wish for me to stay home and spend full time with (Farmville and Fishworld) Marti and Zach.

* Daddy and Mama's 45th wedding anniversary. Their union's one of the biggest blessings despite the challenges in their married life.

* Daddy's very, very tragic and freaky vehicular accident whick took his life, our aunt's (Mama Tit) and our cousin's (Bingbing).

* The saddest Christmas and New Year's Eve for us. It was too sad I cried from morning 'til night.

I will always remember 2009 as the year I experienced the deepest and worst kind of pain when I lost Daddy in an accident. Although we had lots of moments when we argued and fought, I missed him so much I thought I'd also die. As what my li'l sis wrote in her tribute, Daddy may be a complex person to others but to us his children, he was simply a very loving father who always wanted the best for us and who provided us with everything we needed, a very doting lolo to my and my older sister's kids.

Another year has started but the pain of losing someone so dear is still there. I pray that we will have more strength as the days go on and I pray for Daddy's eternal rest. I pray, too, that 2010 will be a very good year for all of us. 2009 was just too painful, too tragic.

Happy New Year!

wishing everyone a blessed 2010. may good health, peace, happiness, love and all good things be ours this year and beyond.