A year in the life: 2008

I beg your indulgence as I would like to do a recap of my life in 2008. It’s a good way for me to look back and see what I’ve done, what I’ve accomplished (if any!) and maybe laugh on the few highlights along the way. I think it’s my way of assessing how 2009 should unfold, don’t you think??

January – Aside from New Year celebrations, we’ve just been focusing on Den’s 3rd Quarterly exams and preparing for her class retreat that’s scheduled for this month. One of my grandfather’s brother, Lolo Boboy, the one I’m very close to, also died from a heart attack on Christmas day and then he ended up in a coma for about a week until the family decided to end his suffering.

February – is a BAD month for me and my family. My mother died on Feb. 7, 2008 after being hit by a Toyota Tacoma while crossing the street in San Diego, California. I got denied a US Visa at the Embassy which made me feel so bad and furious. She was buried on Feb. 25, the same day as my sister’s birthday.

March – Hectic Month because of Den’s graduation from High School (March 28) and the birthday of my two kids, Dana turning 4 and Dylan turning 2. My mom was supposed to come home for this but she didn’t make it. We just took the kids to the Mall and had some food prepared at the house.

April – Summer time. Relatives from the Paypon side had a reunion and we all went to visit the family’s hometown in Calayan Island, Cagayan at the northernmost tip of the Philippines and spent about 10 days there. It was an adventure, having to spend 12-14 hours on a bus and another 10 hours on a boat (going back was 6 hours only) to get there. It was the first time for my kids to be there. We had a blast!

May – It’s a poignant time because of my mom’s birthday. She would have been 61 years old. We were also busy with enrollment procedures for Den for her college education.

June – School season. We had our Internet connection upgraded to DSL. Even though it’s the slowest speed for DSL (it’s what we can afford), it was still a great leap from dial-up haha I’ve also started freelance writing to add to the family income.

July – I’ve been looking for ways to augment the family income and I found that blogging is one way to do that. I’ve just had my blog approved for a sponsorship website, where you write about products and they pay you for it. It’s something cool :) Oh! and I also got an article published in The BIG C magazine entitled, “Finding the right words to say to the cancer patient”.

August – I lost a tooth! In July, I was suffering horribly from such a painful tooth that my whole face was swollen from it. I finally got it removed!! Haha and I can’t tell you what a relief that was! Oh and it’s Den’s 17th birthday too.

September – There’s a new addition to the family, my niece Sofia Jasmine, born on the 4th. It was also Lance’s 2nd birthday and the Tadeos had a little get-together in Marikina. Chance for the kids to play together and the grown-ups to catch up on things :)

October – Stevie and Toni gave birth to their 2nd child, Hannah Sofia. It was my 36th Birthday (wow, time flies haha).

November – Patrick and I celebrated our 14 years of togetherness hahaha. Undas (Day of the Dead) was hard because now there’s someone I’m personally mourning. A visit to Patrick’s mom’s grave was like a substitute for visiting my mom and that’s where I ended up crying my heart out.

December – is a full month. We took the kids to see the Dinos Alive in Manila exhibit. We were able to buy a new TV, DVD Player and a 5.1 Theater system. We treated ourselves to TGIFriday’s, Hooters, and Don Henrico’s (on separate occasions, ok?). We thought it was a good end to the year. But alas, bad news came at its wake. Patrick’s Dad collapsed, had a heart attack and ended up in a coma on Christmas day, just like my Lolo Boboy a year earlier. He died on New Year’s eve. Things will never be the same way again.