I thought about what to write at 12:37 a.m.
Truly an unholy hour in this home, where the children sleep at 6:30 and the husband at 8:00. And I thought that if a writer can still be awake at this time of the night/day to work on his/her masterpiece, then there must be some type of devotion there.
I’m still awake not because of insomnia (I have won the battle against it a few months ago thanks to some boring readings from school). I’m still awake because of Frodo Baggins and his legion of friends from “The Lord of the Rings”.
Last week, Jeff and I went on a hobbit binge and retraced Bilbo Baggin’s journey from The Shire to the Lonely Mountains. It was three nights of eating dinner without a table because the ultimate goal was to finish the trilogy. Then came the decision to watch “The Lord of the Rings”. Jeff has copies of the extended versions. Let’s not forget that this is a trilogy and with unextended versions of each movie, we were clocking in an average of three hours per night to reminisce the friendship that was forged by the “Fellowship of the Ring”.
I love how this trilogy highlights teamwork and friendship as the keys to success and victory; that no man (or elf or dwarf or wizard) is enough to conquer evil; that even that which is consider as little contribution counts; that with commitment and honor man defeats his greedy self and embraces his true humanity.
At the end of the last movie, Frodo wrote: “How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart, you begin to understand, there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep… that have taken hold.”
This made me ponder on my relationships with the several people in this life, and the journeys that I have endured with and without them.
I sit here in front of a three-year old laptop feeling the cold wind brought about by Guangzhou’s winter. I thought about the aftermath of Cebu’s Sinulog festival. There is much trash to be cleaned by the city’s metro aides at this time. The street parties are not yet over. People are not still in the mood of going home.
Do I wish to be in Cebu right now?
Yes, if only for the experience of braving the crowd at the Basilica del Minore del Sto. Nino, singing Bato Balani sa gugma, waving my hands in union with thousands of devotees, and dancing to the traditional Sinug beat. The Cebuanos’ devotion to the Holy Child is unparalleled. The last time I completed the nine-day Novena Mass was in 2013 when I was about three months pregnant with the twins. Jessie was my partner. Our late friend and environmentalist Malu Largo also joined us. Those were nights of devotion, of prayer, of hope, of love, of friendship, of determination, of respect, of commitment, of endurance.
Do I wish to be in Cebu right now?
Yes, if only for the experience of sitting through the 16-hour long Grand Mardi Gras at the grandstand (including the time when reporters wait for the announcement of this year’s winners). It was a personal, unintended tradition to take a photo of myself (with good friend, Jessie) after the show, just when people are sweeping the stage and picking up every bit of trash left by performers and spectators. We take our photo at the very stage where all contingents perform – and that to us, was (and will continue to be) a great experience.
In the next few days, the festive atmosphere will die down until Valentine’s Day fill the air with more love songs and establishments advertise all sorts of V-Day deals and sales. In a few weeks, some people will be talking about Chinese New Year. Then, by March, students will “march” for their graduation.
The year will move on as it is expected to be.
But I hope and pray that in the heart of hearts of the Cebuanos, the devotion to the Holy Child goes deep; a devotion that is not only limited to those nine days; a devotion that lasts for a lifetime and is extended to all men, Catholic or non Catholic, Christian or non-Christian.
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T30WC or The 30-minute Writing Challenge is a writing exercise born out of this blogger’s need to maintain a habit of writing. Subjects of each writing challenge is just about anything but should ONLY be written within 30 minutes.
