No Place Like Home

It's before 6am. Somehow, it's so easy to wake up early in this house. It has always been, since I was little. It might be because of the wide windows with its flimsy curtains or maybe the non-stop crowing of the few tandang or roosters just outside the window. Or maybe because the house is already buzzing with activities and the sound coming from the kitchen just automatically rouses my mommy soul. Whatever it is, here I am, typing away so early in the morning at my Mama's house.

We landed at the Davao International Airport at around 7 the other night. A coupe of security guards are stationed around the exit to record the name and the plate number of the cab you are riding. They give you the piece of paper with those information in case you have any complaints against the driver. We had a smooth ride owing to the fact that it was Black Saturday. The streets were quiet and somber. People were in prayer, anticipating Easter Sunday.

Our residence is quite far from the airport but without the usual traffic, we got to mama's house after a 30-minute ride. Although it was Lenten Season, my Mama prepared a sumptuous meal for us. She also served Binignit (Gintan in Tagalog), my favorite Filipino snack made of glutinous or sticky rice balls, plantain bananas, sweet potatoes and tapioca pearls cooked in coconut milk. My Mama makes it more special by adding Langka or jackfruit. It's one of my Mama's specialties that I never had the courage to recreate because I feel like this dish requires a lot of skills and experience. I promise myself to learn how to prepare it before this trip ends.

We ended up retiring early that night as we spent the whole day travelling. Like today, I was up early yesterday. I spent some time touring the house that still feels so much like the home I left more than 13 years ago.

I couldn't help but laugh out loud at some of the artworks around the house.

Our altar for when my pious Grandmama visits. She says Angelus every 6pm and we join her when we can.

I also strolled around my Mama's garden. I was happy to see so many Aloe Vera as I'm trying out some products made out of these alien-looking plants.

I'm spending most of today prepping for the Homesteading Brigade event on April 4. We'll be hunting for seeds and will be purchasing notebooks and pad papers for the students. After that, we'll be making preparations for the Meet-Up on April 7. After all these scheduled events, I'll have more time to learn some of my Mama's specialty secrets. How about you? What are you busy about these days?