In my island of Cebu, specifically.
We arrived Saturday morning, the 18th of June.
What a relief it was to see my Mom at the arrival area as the twins rushed outside of the airport to get to Heaven-knows-where.
Nicholas immediately recognized my Mom and gave her a tight hug.
Antoinette gave Mom her classic grouchy face and motioned for me to come near them.
The flight from Los Angeles to Manila is not the longest travel time I have had experienced in the many years that I have been flying, sailing, and driving.
But it was the hardest!
We were on-board Philippine Airlines – not the most comfortable seats even in business class – and I was awake the whole time. The twins were asleep for about eight hours (thank God!) but Jeff Junior was miserable and kept on fidgeting.
I don’t blame the baby.
His first airplane ride is a long-haul flight from the West to the East. This may be too much for a nine-month-old baby to handle.
But we had to take a breather from the year that was.
If you have been following this blog, you know my struggles in keeping this family together in a foreign land (at least for me since I am not American) and trying to adjust to the fact that I was a housewife doing household chores. The impatient me screams for more than just household chores.
I missed going out and interviewing people and then write about them for newspapers.
I missed organizing and hosting storytelling sessions.
I missed having my Mom around because even if we don’t always see eye to eye, she comes to my rescue most of the time.
So here I am… here we are.. the Reading Ruffolos…
Back in Cebu…
Back in Liloan, a northern Cebu town where the little house and lot I purchased in 2012 is located. The same little house, we will expand to make Casa Ruffolo Uno, the home of the Reading Ruffolos here in the Philippines.
Just yesterday, I was in the company of children from Barangay Ward 3 in Minglanilla (south of Cebu) for the Inquirer Read-along session.
I had barely recovered from jet lag but I accepted the invitation to host the Father’s Day celebration of the village by staging a read-along session.
I wanted to be there.
Already, I am feeling a resurgence of positive energy.
I am in my country.
I am in my skin.
I am in Cebu.
Time to hit the beaches yo!
