We had decided that we're going to spend this year's holiday season with my family
aux Philippines. It was a very tough decision to make since x-mas vacation is only two weeks long
(short, rather).
-- it's gonna be a 17-hour flight.
(Jet lag, I hope that we won't be suffering much from it),
-- Clem's very first time travelling by plane
(she's a bit anxious, who's not?),
-- she and her brother will be skipping school - the day before and the day after the vacation
(I never liked that even as a kid),
-- we'd be paying dearly for the airline tickets
(it's just for two weeks and it'll cost us more than €6000, just the same) and of course more moolah to spend over there
( oh, it's christmas after all),
-- and then there's our cat, Tom
who will be at someone else's place for we can't take
him with us
(that'll be more complicated) - so gotta find a reliable "catsitter"
(not really sure if we can find one) ,
-- etc. etc. ... oh yes, I almost forgot, the fish!
(who's gonna feed it?).
Too much things to consider -- giving me difficulties to reach a decision... till I found myself calling my mother
(late September) to tell her that we'll be there for the holidays. Just like that.
So that was it, decision made. And we got all very excited.
All of a sudden, something made me to be uncertain again,
(although we have already applied for new passports and made reservations and all) -- last October 19, a
huge explosion occurred in one of those prestigious department stores not far from where my parents live! It was initially reported as an act of terrorism then later reported as an "accident", the exact details of what really happened, I don't know. But my father assured me that it wasn't a terrorists' act but a huge architectural stupidity and that the person responsible is now being sued. Really? What if it was a bomb? What if the circulating emails and texts about the future bombings are true? Whatever. I was no longer sure if I really want us to be there for christmas...
It's been 10 years since I last saw my parents
(webcams don't count), and the idea that we won't be seeing them this year haunted me for weeks, so I called them up one more time and told them that we'll try to be
au rendez-vous and be informing them once the plane depart from the ground,
lol. So, 'though our
noël au soleil was not sure yet, I and the hubby still managed to prepare two enormous boxes
(just had them shipped 2 weeks ago) of French goodies
. Those packages are supposed to arrive
(via sea) in Manila a week before christmas, and we're supposed to be there on the 22nd
(December), so it's great timing.
Just when I thought I got everything and everyone ready, another tragic event took place in Manila. The Philippine Congress was bombed
(it happened more than a week ago) and was confirmed as terrorists' attack.
Phuck.
No, we'll stay here and that's final.
