Summit of the roses

It has been in the works for the past six months, and finally pushed through when my sister and her family arrived from UK last month.

The family reunion was originally scheduled after my wedding in 2006, but my sister was four months pregnant then. A wise move, I guess. Given the agenda, this reunion needs us all to be physically and emotionally prepared.

I’ve steeled myself for this event. And true enough, the month of April saw me using up the most number of leave credits in just a month, and spending the most number of hours driving.

And that was just the “physical” part.

Anyway, we kick-started with the birthday celebration of my niece, Ally, at Jollibee Calamba.

Kids these days amaze me to no end, showing an EQ and IQ levels I never had when I was their age (I was in coma during my entire childhood, and regained consciousness only when I entered high school).

Ally has grown so much since she walked the aisle as our flower girl in our wedding. At four years old, speaking with a Liverpool accent (“Hullo Teehtow … Am fo’ yees old.”), she behaves like a little lady and is a very caring big sister to 19-month Ayla.

Ally did momentarily lose her lady-like demeanor and reverted to being a child when Jollibee the mascot walked into the party.

This phenomenal Pinoy icon has this uncanny way of getting into children’s hearts. Ally, usually very cautious and quiet with everyone, gave him a hug at first sight! Unbelievable! (I’ll never get that effect on kids. Haha!)

Adults can’t help loving the Jollibee, too, especially when he started shaking to the tune of The Papaya Song and Itaktak Mo. Whoever was inside the costume is extremely athletic and one hell of a dancer. This mascot did hand stands, backflips, and one-hand push-ups. Plus it dished out moves that reminded me of Streetboys and Sexbombs combined.

We thought of going to one of Batangas’ beaches, but decided it would be a tad too risky for Ayla and Ally. So we went to Villa Victorina, a subdivision in Lipa City that has a nice, private clubhouse.

Despite the sunblock, the UK-grown kids cooked nicely under the sun in just minutes. They loved every moment of it, and protested quietly when their parents fished them out the water. (Just silent tears, no wailing. How behaved can these kids get?) My sister can only sigh and wish they never have to go back to Liverpool.

Moments like this make me more appreciative of where I am. This country is still a beautiful place, if you just have the right frame of mind and perspective.

The highlights of the reunion for me was on the third week, when all five members of our little family sit together at the end of the day to discuss what needs to be done to redress pressing family issues – past, present, and future.

This was the first time the in-laws witnessed what my mother and I call the “summit of the roses”.

My brother-in-law observed how formal we address each other. I explained that this is how we really are all the time, having lived apart for most of our lives, and he’s about to see why we postponed the original schedule in 2006.

This was where emotional fortitude came into play.

I have been waiting for that meeting, for that moment. Finally, it was the moment when secrets were revealed by the right persons, and the burdens now be collectively borne by everyone.

While some issues were far from resolved, I left the meeting table feeling a bit lighter.


My sister and her husband took a little time off parenting and went to visit us in Makati, with the grandparents left behind in Calamba to babysit. We spent an evening at San Mig by the Bay at the Mall of Asia.

Being the farthest flung member of the family, my sister was still in disbelief over some of the things she learned during the “summit”, so I filled her in with more details over beer, sisig, and live band music at Padi’s Point.


My sister and her family are now back in Liverpool, and the rest of the family have, more or less, resumed normal lives – apart, as usual. No one knows yet when the next “summit” will be.

Ah… family. ^^