The Twist

I have been quietly, simply, and privately celebrating Mother’s Day for the past 14 years until it was given a little twist by my family this year.

Deciding with my brother Joseph to have our summer get-away in Subic on may 10-11, I did not remember (so was he who is the worst when it comes to important dates) that may 11 coincided with the mother’s day celebration. I only took note of it two days before our departure. I was ecstatic (but definitely not expecting for anything grand) for I would be with my sons, siblings, nieces, and nephews this time. For me, their mere presence would already make my day exceptional. 

Friday night, our house was buzzing with so much activity. My sister Nano and I divided the menu which we had to prepare for our may 10 meals. Our business deprived us of sleep, but we did not even notice it. We had to make sure that we were all done once  Joseph/Nonoy arrived at 2:30 am. A known strict timekeeper in our family, we knew he’d be punctual which means to say we would all be leaving Las Pinas City at the set time which is 3 am.  Unsurprisingly, he was at our gate before the clock struck 2:30 am. We immediately went to our neighbor to get the rented 14-seater van which we had decided to use instead of bringing our respective vehicles. Nonoy would be our driver. Sensibleness was fully utilized when we did the planning. 

Two hours and 40 minutes. This was the shortest trip I ever had in going to Subic. Our brother had convincingly mastered driving to this northern part of Luzon. 

As expected, we were one of the early guests (just like two years ago) at Camayan Beach Resort. This was again our first destination (see related story at https://wanderingjouster.com/2012/10/28/carpe-diem/) since check-in time in our accommodation is still at 2 pm for us “Ocean’s Eleven”, the taxi meter to enjoy our outing which is as scarce as a hen’s teeth must already start running the moment we got off the van. 

At 10 am we left the beach as the number of people continued increasing and the heat of the sun was already painful. Being our event director and guide, Nonoy brought us to Harbor Point to while away the time. 

It was in this mall where my nieces, Yula and Tintin, were able to make me play a dreamt game at Timezone by pressing all the buttons in the machine and guiding me what to do. With my ever ready partner in crime and nuttiness, my sister Nano, I had the best pre-Mother’s Day amusement when we did the “Dance Beat”! Take a look at these snippets of imagery from the video. (Sorry, I cannot post the full video here. I still have to seek my sister’s permission because she worries that the video will catapult her to stardom. Hahaha.) Truly, hot hot hot stuff!

At exactly 2 pm we were comfortably settled at Mango Valley Hotel. We took our heavy lunch (Kamayan style) with a Mother’s Day cake from Nano as our dessert.  

Siesta was warmly welcomed by everyone to recharge for our night swimming. Lancelot was the happiest. 

The best part of our night swimming was Nonoy’s kind of game with our vacationing nephews, Yuji and Nico. For a change, his profession was challenged to do “human architecture”. I was very happy hearing and seeing my widowed brother laughing and enjoying the achieved desired effects in the pictures. 

Bonus sources of entertainment at the beach were acrobatic acts from local and African performers and two live bands playing Jamaican and pop music respectively. 

The three-hour dip ended with this jump shot after retakes. Hahaha…

Then, we headed for Moonbay Marina Complex where a string of hotels and nightspots and a park can be found. 

A little tired and hungry already from the stroll and clowning, we returned to MVH. Hunger addressed, the oldies (me included..ha-ha) got ready to retire to bed while the young ones’ energy was still at its peak. My alibi in sleeping early was my planned running around Subic early morning which was aborted due to my fear of getting lost and be the cause of delay in returning to the south before lunch and not the heavy traffic. 

After our breakfast, the whole morning of May 11 was spent in our respective rooms though Nonoy asked if we would still want to swim. I guess the humidity outside made the majority choose to stay inside, watch tv, and tinker with their gadget. My youngest son was the only one who wanted to return to Camayan Beach. With an hour to wait before we checked out, everything was already ready to be hauled in the van. Later on, a call  from Nonoy had us moving out like soldiers who were commanded by their superior. 

Rapturous. This is the word that best described my state when we left Subic and even up to now that I am finishing this narrative. To be with my family on Mother’s Day was more than enough to make me feel honored and loved. They might have not verbalized their feelings, but their action said it all. Thank you, thank you and thank you, all!

Indeed, one of life’s best gifts is motherhood. I am extremely blessed for I am a MOTHER.