By Jan Vicente B. Pekas
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When you are with family, any situation will turn into a fantastic experience. From a mediocre memory that will inevitably be lost among the ocean’s worth of scenic views from life. That same memory will etch itself into the mind and always be a wonderful source of nostalgia and happiness, or a terrible scourge that only exudes embarrassment, when we are among our fellow brethren.
Nevertheless, it’s always fun with the family. Even when doing manual labor on the weekends, time seems to go by so fast, and the fatigue never catches up with all the gossip and stories being passed around. Growing up in a home flanked by hostile grass and shrubs all around, being with the family, you can’t help but go with the flow and sweat under a sweltering day together.
Even better will always be when 12 o’clock comes around, and everyone is sat all around the table. Drips of soy sauce are spread out around the table, small bits of tissues are scattered and nothing but bones remaining on the plates, are all the signs of a great and long-time lunch with the family.
After the act comes the shirt giving way for a hairy belly that has reached its limit and being set free upon the world. When the shirt is put up, the brown hairy cyclops come free and stares back at anyone who meets his gaze.
A toothpick completes the package. And as a result, middle aged men with their shirts put up, toothpicks in their mouths leaning on a wall after a big feast is just as fitting as stains of red “momma spits” on the streets of Baguio.
No matter how unnecessarily long the lunch is with family after work in the morning, we always go back as long as the sun isn’t too excited to see us back.
And just like that, the day will soon be over, as the sun sets and the rest go home, of course, not after another set of light snacks. The stories filled with gossip suddenly halt and fatigue catches up, forcing everyone to be quiet after a long day of hard work and storytelling. Some, more deserving of the rest than others.
Though the iconic slogan of Philippine tourism has been changed, it will always be more fun with the family, and those memories will forever remain timeless. A Filipino is not built to be alone, but to be among a big although very caring family and in the arms of a lover. It is more fun to be with the family,**
