Un-plannning my 33rd Birthday
Tuesday, December 20th, 2005What’s that famous saying, “Life is what happens when you plan it?” My plan was to spend my 33rd birthday in Mindoro with family and friends. Zip through those 45-minute Supercat trips from Batangas to Calapan and arrive in Naujan all hearty and ready to party. But Life apparently had something else in store for me.
Neither I nor my cool, 80-year old aunt (“Ninang”) thought that leaving Laguna last December 17 for Mindoro would take us the whole day. Arriving in Batangas pier around 10am, we were told that Supercat was not operating that day due to a typhoon. We had to get tickets for the Montenegro - one of those big, slow boats that took a little over two hours. Although our tickets were for a 12noon departure, the boat ended up leaving three hours later. Amidst the hustle and bustle of passengers contemplating a much-later arrival in Calapan, what were two gals to do?
We arrived in Calapan with the sunset and Tio Bert waiting for us. Ninang and I - freshly manicured and pedicured during the long trip - maneuvered through a sea of people and big trucks smoke belching through our lungs to get out of the Montenegro. The night before I turned 33 was turning out to be quite surreal as Tio Bert drove us through the flooded areas of Calapan. We passed through dark roads since the electricity has been turned off the day before. As a result, water from the tank was also swiftly dwindling.
Mama was supposed to fetch Ninang and I from the pier. However, she and another aunt who arrived from the US the week before were both stranded in Naujan, a town one hour away from Calapan. All other family and friends, guests to my planned birthday party, could not leave Naujan because water from the Bucayao river overflowed on the bridge where all vehicles pass. The week before, when the dike in Calapan collapsed and brought on all this unexpected flooding, I had to ride an alternative transportation - a dump truck - to bring me to Naujan because an uncle passed away.
On my last night as a 32-year old lass (ha-ha), I had candlelight dinner with Ninang, Tio Bert and Tia Lucing. I grew up with Ninang in Alaminos; and with Tio Bert’s family in Calapan where Mama worked for some time. We all slept that night hearing the rain steadily pouring and knowing in our hearts that there was probably no way we could proceed to Naujan the next day.
I woke up the next day and saw sms greetings and missed birthday calls. By then, my mobile phone’s battery was also nearly empty. I spent my 33rd vastly different from my “plan.”
Instead of an all-day party, it was a quiet day of reflection outside Tio Bert’s wonderful porch where the air was both fresh and soothing. It was also a day of thanksgiving because I felt so loved by uncles, aunts and cousins who called from Naujan all excitedly sharing about the preparations they made to celebrate my birthday. In fact, Tio Junior and Tia Nor, who lived next door to each other, wanted me to celebrate in their respective homes.
Family and friends all took turns to make sure I was not alone. Ninang, although 80, traversed the sea with me and laughed through all the travails of our trip. One friend, also very willing to go, had it not been for an unexpected asthma attack. Another friend commuting to Tagaytay with a full backpack and heavy posters to distribute at my request. Tia Lucing slaving away in the kitchen to concoct a wonderful dinner. Kuya Jimmy and Tio Bert both taking turns to drive us around despite having to leave their families and the safety of their homes. All of this they willingly went through despite the inconvenience it must have caused them.
Over lunch, we toasted to more wonderful years together and prayed for all those affected by the flood. I received another unexpected birthday gift as we attended the Sunday late noon mass where I saw a good priest-friend from Tagaytay.
On that December 18 night in Calapan, I re-lived much of what I treasured during childhood years spent in our ancestral home in Naujan - a life that is filled with music and stories and family legends! With candles all around Tia Lucing’s sala, Ninang and I belted out Kundiman songs as Tio Bert accompanied us on the piano.
Before turning in, I shared about a birthday reflection that I heard from a good friend recently. He said that turning 33 reminded him about Jesus who died at 33. I found it very interesting when I heard it. I think it was his sharing that led me to reflect on how this seemingly ‘surreal’ birthday reminded me about Jesus’ own birthday - displaced and in a manger, with no light but one shining star, and with only his most immediate family around.
With a birthday that occurs during the Christmas month, I need reminders like this. To un-plan things and enjoy a simple celebration made more meaningful because it is in solidarity with all those around us who are similarly displaced in this world.
