Remembering....

Sitting here writing on another blog about the things I miss in the Philippines, it made me want to share it here also. Oh, I mean all the little everyday things that most of us take for granted in our busy lives, but when I'm there, I feel swept back in time to a place that I remember as a boy. It was called "home", and life was so very different then.

Of course I didn't have bills to pay, work, or obligations as you do when you get older, but the best things I remember are the things I see and feel every day when I'm at home in the Philippines. You see, life seems to go back to being simple, and the people truly enjoy life for what it is.

I remember the neighbors when I was young, visiting in the house, relatives coming for the weekend, or us going to the mountains to spend a few days with my uncle and aunt. I remember my mother actually cooking every meal, and we all ate together as a family. On Sunday afternoons after church and the big lunch that I don't know where my mother found the time to prepare, we might go on a drive, just anywhere, but as a family.

When I go to Davao and spend time there with my family, it brings back all sorts of memories like that, because that is just everyday life there. Waking up to the sound of the rooster, Katherine getting coffee ready, and the joy of sharing it outside while we watch the village come alive. The sounds of the man selling 'Taho", which I dearly love, the neighbors coming around and greeting you, and starting the day with friends. Watching and hearing the sounds of the children playing, planning to go to the market, and oh, the smell and taste of the fresh pandesal, if anyone got up early enough to get some.

The days there are busy, but it's a different kind of busy, which I don't seem to have the words to explain. Though you might have much to do, there's always time for family and friends. Yet the work always gets done, and it gets done in a happy kind of way. And after the day is done, it's so relaxing to stroll through the village in the quiet of the evening, meeting the people and just getting to know the place.

I could probably sit here and write page after page of all the things I enjoy doing when I'm there, but it might not mean anything to anyone but me. All I know is, that I get taken back to a better time, a time that I remember with fondness, and the best part of it is that when I'm there, it's not memories, but it's just simple everyday life.