So It is Christmas

Christmas spirit in the Philippines comes earl...

Christmas is around the corner as they say. I cannot spot on the right corner though; I’ve been looking for four straight years now and it’s seems that I couldn’t really find it in here. Celebrating Christmas away from home, family and friends is the most difficult part of being an OFW. Yeah, I could party with friends, I could drink the night away, and I can dance for all I care but deep inside, there is an empty space. The longing for my family, laughs of my kids and the warm embrace of my wife. All I can do is be with the moment, convince myself that I am happy. Half-truth laughs can be handy as I hide my sadness.

Oh well, at least back home, they can celebrate Christmas and a call to them would lessen the pain of not being there. (I hope Telecommunication Networks will do great this year). Every Christmas and every New Year, I only have one wish “I hope next year I will celebrate the holidays with my family”.

Four years made me forget how it feels to celebrate the holidays. I’m not even familiar with the decorations anymore. Only when someone will mention about it that I’ll think of it or when I hear some Christmas Carols playing on somebody’s mobile phone. I know some of those who will read this may say I’m too melodramatic, well sorry for me; I am and couldn’t do something about it.

But even if holidays isn’t that a big deal here in the Middle East, what matters is we the OFWs will make sure that our families back home would have the best Christmas every year. And for us, a night with friends, singing and dining together will suffice as of the moment. Until then all we can do is hope and wish that next year will be different. Christmas with Family...that is all there is.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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