Unexpected events completely altered our own plans for this Christmas Eve. We were prepared to meet Christmas quietly but an unexpected visit from members of our family from my husband's side came as a pleasant surprise. Dressed in our house dress or "pambahay" and without any preparation whatsoever, we gamely welcomed them, proving once again that Christmas is still about family, no matter what.
Image Source: levy martinez
Undemanding Guests
The picture above shows our family together with the families of my husband's siblings. Our three families used to live in one compound in Manila. Because my family and the family of Levy (my sister-in-law blogger) decided to live elsewhere, only the family of my sister-in-law Helen remained there and so we seldom see each other. It will take extreme effort on our part or theirs to bring us together.
What I like about getting visits from them is the lack of stress. There is no need for general cleaning in our house and they accept whatever condition our household is in when they arrive. They don't mind the big pile of clothes in our living room waiting to be ironed. They are oblivious to the equally big pile of clothes for laundry at the back of the house. The best part is that they always bring food with them, pots and all. All we need are the utensils and we're all set for simple get-togethers.
Unexpected Christmas Eve Visit
We all know just how hectic Christmas Eve can be for everybody. Everyone needs to attend to their own home's Christmas preparation. We were not expecting anyone to come today to visit us especially since we live far from our relatives.
The text from Levy that they are on their way barely gave us 30 minutes to prepare and they arrived in our house which was in total disarray. I knew that the short notice was intentional so that we will not have to prepare anything. Oh my, they even caught me making last minute clean-ups in our bathroom just to make sure it is presentable to guests.
Appreciation
I truly appreciate what they did for our respective families today. It gave the children the chance to bond. There were no gifts exchanged but everybody was happy. A quick trip to the village playground for the kids and endless chatter among us parents were the main activities aside from eating and laughing but it was enough.
My Say
We tend to make excuses not to be with family even during special occasions like Christmas. There are conditions we set on ourselves before we get together with family resulting to complicated situations when everything should be a lot simpler. Sometimes, get-togethers as simple as this make more sense since there are less expectations and therefore less chances of being disappointed.
That said, I am sending my Christmas greetings to the four kids I'm missing today.
Image Source: levy martinez
Undemanding Guests
The picture above shows our family together with the families of my husband's siblings. Our three families used to live in one compound in Manila. Because my family and the family of Levy (my sister-in-law blogger) decided to live elsewhere, only the family of my sister-in-law Helen remained there and so we seldom see each other. It will take extreme effort on our part or theirs to bring us together.
What I like about getting visits from them is the lack of stress. There is no need for general cleaning in our house and they accept whatever condition our household is in when they arrive. They don't mind the big pile of clothes in our living room waiting to be ironed. They are oblivious to the equally big pile of clothes for laundry at the back of the house. The best part is that they always bring food with them, pots and all. All we need are the utensils and we're all set for simple get-togethers.
Unexpected Christmas Eve Visit
We all know just how hectic Christmas Eve can be for everybody. Everyone needs to attend to their own home's Christmas preparation. We were not expecting anyone to come today to visit us especially since we live far from our relatives.
The text from Levy that they are on their way barely gave us 30 minutes to prepare and they arrived in our house which was in total disarray. I knew that the short notice was intentional so that we will not have to prepare anything. Oh my, they even caught me making last minute clean-ups in our bathroom just to make sure it is presentable to guests.
Appreciation
I truly appreciate what they did for our respective families today. It gave the children the chance to bond. There were no gifts exchanged but everybody was happy. A quick trip to the village playground for the kids and endless chatter among us parents were the main activities aside from eating and laughing but it was enough.
My Say
We tend to make excuses not to be with family even during special occasions like Christmas. There are conditions we set on ourselves before we get together with family resulting to complicated situations when everything should be a lot simpler. Sometimes, get-togethers as simple as this make more sense since there are less expectations and therefore less chances of being disappointed.
That said, I am sending my Christmas greetings to the four kids I'm missing today.
