Back to December

Disyembre 23, 2014

December- the year 2014 is about to end and we will once again welcome a year of happiness and sadness, success and failures, love and loss, hope and faith. 20 years of celebrating the Christmas season made me see and realize some of life's important lessons and experiences.

I could still remember the time when my parents introduced to us Mr. Santa Claus. They told us that we have to sleep and then wake up some time at 12 midnight to open our gifts from this guy. I was having doubts at that time at whether to believe my parents that Santa Claus exist or not.

But I tried to sleep and yes, I woke up at 12 midnight and voila! I received a gift wrapped in a shiny paper. It was big! When I opened it, I received a new toy. It was not unusual for me and my brothers to receive new toys since our parents would buy us new ones whenever we visit the malls but the toy that I received on Christmas Day was an unusual one.

You know what I received? It was an office set for a doll. It has pink tables with drawers, a computer set and an office chair. For me, it was an awesome gift since I can use it whenever I imagine myself working in an office and sitting in a comfortable big chair which I am experiencing now. :)) But, at then end of that day I believed that my parents were the ones who gave us the gifts.

Christmas Day back then was all about receiving new toys and gifts. As I grew up, I learned to let go of my obsession on new toys and started to invest on things that matter and those that would last for years. You too should!

Every Christmas Day I could receive a minimum of Php 1000 and I was also able to receive Php 4000 as a maximum when my grandmother was alive. I learned to invest on clothes since my father always tells us to let go of our obsession on toys and start investing on clothes that we could wear.

This year, Christmas Day for me is a different one. Unlike last year that I am the one who receives gifts and money well, this year it's the around way around. I've been employed twice for this year so I wanted to share my blessings to my family and friends.

My mother once asked me where I would spend my Christmas Day since I was already employed and usually whenever you are employed, you couldn't go back to your hometown to spend a day or two there since there is a scheduled work day after the celebration. I had my graduation last Sunday for my Alternative Learning System-Dressmaking course so I had to go home and receive my certificate but we had a scheduled working day last Monday. It's a good thing that my boss allowed me to work in Butuan City for the two days before Christmas. I would thank the company for their support on my graduation day. :')

Sometimes, our mere presence during the celebration is already a gift for our family especially for mine since my father works in some other place and I study and work in another.

I shared my blessings to the street kids in Divisoria and random people that I was able to meet along the way. Christmas is the time to share our blessings not only to the people that we know but also to the one's that we don't. It is the season of giving and the time where we acknowledge God's presence in our lives through the people around us.

When you visit National Bookstore, I encourage you to donate books! They are currently gathering books to be donated to kids. I was already able to donate a story book since it costs around Php 70.00. :3