Headache is the mother of invention

This year marked the 'nth time of our grand family reunion. My lola from my father's side celebrates her birthday every 25th of December. This however would prove to be the most infuriating of them all.

First, let me introduce you to my family. We are a large family of 9 siblings from my father's side. My lolo died 2 years ago as with my dad who died 18 years ago. I have one tita who lives in the States with her family, an uncle in the mideast, and the rest are here with their big and boisterous families. I have approximately 20 cousins, 20 nieces/ nephews and several other non-familiar relatives of 2nd or 3rd degree. In other words, we are a big family.

Of all of my cousins, I was very close to 2 of them. We used to call ourselves the "tres marias" as we were all girls. They were both older than me by a year or so. How we became close, I do not recall as we were as different from each other as one could ever imagine. J, is the outgoing type, always with friends or whoever she's in a relationship with. T, on the other hand, is the conservative type and also the studious one. She took up law, by the way. And I, was somewhat the youngest and the one who couldn't care less.

Years passed by, including marriages (1 just this year) and births and we now come to the most awaited family reunion.

Scene 1

Tita1: "kmusta na ang dalaga!" (hugs me) "ay dalaga ka pa rin?"

Scene 2:

Cousin1: "ei, wala ka pa ring boyfriend?"

Scene 3:

Cousin2: "Ate, kelan ka naman magpapakasal?"

Scene 4:

Asawa ng pinsan ko: "Sana naman next year me kasama ka na..."

I don't know but I dread reunions. Not only do you have to smile, endure tight hugs and grit your teeth the entire time, all of your relatives somehow feel that they need to be updated about your life. Last time I checked, I'm still a civilian and not Kris Aquino. But since They are family, I would somehow have to grin and bear those persistent questions ranging from the innocent "kmusta ang life?" to the super personal "kmusta ang lovelife?" (really, do we categorize lives right now? From plain old simple life to "lovelife"? How many lives do we really have? Just asking... )

I understand that you mean well, but these constant comments somehow gets into my nerves that I'm forced to invent creative answers to questions like:

Kelan ka mag-aasawa? Me: "Malapit na, pag nanligaw na sya." (daydreaming)

Bakit wala ka pang boyfriend? Me: " Bakit ang dami ng pimples mo?" (diverting tactic)

Bakit dalaga ka pa rin? Me: "Di pa ako makapagpa sex change eh!" (comedy)

And last but not the least:

Auntie on counting the next reunion's attendees : "Ilan kayong sasama?"

Me reffering to my 2 other sisters: "Tatlo...Pero kung mag-aasawa ako before that...Apat!"

And bless another aunt for helping me out: "at pag nagka-anak pa sya before that...Lima!"

Looking forward to the next get together...

Comments

Popular Posts