December Stories (A Memoir)

2. NOCHE BUENA

This was one Noche Buenas that meant so much to me, but I have to be honest, I forgot the lessons it gave me.

Truth be told, when I decided to transcribe this memoir from paper to this online platform,  I didn't expect it to be a form of catharsis. 

I realized God nudged me to revisit this moment in my life because I had to relearn so many important moments that I'd forgotten, especially the part where, despite financial setbacks and domestic issues, I have a family I should be grateful for.  

It was the start of Misa De Gallo when I left the Church to celebrate Christmas Eve with my family. I had just finished handling our parish's Panunuluyan Production, "Isang Mahiwagang Pasko," when I decided to go to mass on Christmas Day and not attend Misa De Gallo. 

It was December 24, 2008, and Noche Buena was extra special this year, because it showed me how God had been so good to my family despite our financial setbacks and domestic issues. 

Let me backtrack so you know where I'm coming from. When I was young, Noche Buena used to be a sumptuous feast with cakes, pastries, ham, salads, pasta, and lots of fruits. This year however, in my eyes at first, was not something to be grateful for as it wasn't as grandiose as before. Yet eventually, even I have to admit, I'm really grateful for what we were able to come up. I mean, iba nga diyan walang Noche Buena, choosy pa ba ako?

For Noche Buena, we had a whole bilao of sapin-sapin, the ham give away from Jake's company. We were also able to cook spaghetti from the Del Monte give away from my company. There are also the usual Noche Buena staples such as the Long Life tasty bread and two Liters of Coca-Cola to complete our little gathering. Not bad right? 

However, what made this Noche Buena extra special, despite the so-called "meager feast" was the different events that came together. A myriad of moments took the whole family from a bitter December beginning to one that we were all grateful for.

You see, at the start of the month, one of my brothers and I were not on good terms, while our other brother left this year to pursue greener pastures in Singapore. My parents were not also in a good predicament either.  Dad has been a bit weak lately because we didn't have extra money for his maintenance medicines, while my mom will not; for the 11th time; be with us this Christmas. 

To add to this already gloomy domestic scenario was the fact that we owed the landlord P25,000.00, or else we'd be evicted from our house! But we know we paid him, it's our bad though that we didn't ask for a receipt, and neither did responsible give us any.  That's how things were awry in our house. 

To top it off, my personal circumstances weren't all sunshiny either. I was in my quagmire, my own "Slough of Despond" if you may.  Despite working in one of the country's largest BPO companies, I was out of sorts in terms of financial concerns and that resulted in my discombobulated mental state at that time. I'm not in my element at work as  I flunk my metrics.  It's not just work that's in the dumps,  I barely attended my M.A. Theatre Arts classes in UP, while the "Panunuluyan 2008" had its chaotic start early this month. 

If you think my extra-curricular activities ended there, I spread myself so thin this Christmas season.

I am thankful I had the privilege to be the Acting Coach for ManilaOne's Christmas Party Broadway presentation entry of "Chicago". Don't get me wrong, I love giving workshops for the participants of the  "Chicago" presentation, but financially I was in dire straits as I've encountered some monetary problems to go to rehearsals. Let's say, my budget was pretty tight that Christmas. 

Yes, December was bleak, chaotic; and problematic, but things change. God is always there with us. He will find a way, where we can't see. 

On Christmas Eve at midnight, our landlord talked to my brother. The landlord was surprisingly understanding and patient with us, we wouldn't be evicted from the house. He also reminded us to do our best to keep up with our payments and debts. This surprised the whole family. Was it the Christmas air slowly affecting him? Well, we later found out that he won the lottery earlier (or was it a bet in a cockfight - can't recall), he was in a generous mood.

Speaking of my brother, remember our falling out early this month.  Well, Jake and I were able to voice out our respective grievances and understand where each of us was coming from. We realized while our financial debt, particularly the house rental, brought out the worst in us, it was also what brought us together to seek a solution and communicate better with each other.

Unexpectedly, my younger brother also went home on Christmas Eve. As for Mom and dad, maybe there's not much change regarding them but I'm grateful that they're still alive and Dad's spending Christmas Eve with us, his children, at home. That's more than enough to be happy. The Noche Buena is just the tip of the iceberg. My family is the rest of the iceberg beneath it all. 

There was so much to be thankful for. 

On that blessed night, despite the little that we had at our house in terms of Christmas feast, our house was full of mirth and profound joy. Our family isn't perfect I know, but it's our family, and we love each other no matter what flaws we have. 

Our Noche Buena may be meager in presentation, but despite the little that we have, what's important that night was all the blessings God gave us, no matter how poor, broken, or dysfunctional my family is, we are still a family, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Just like what the famous adage from "Lilo and Stitch" said, "This is my family. It's broken but it's still good. Yeah, still good."