Passing the year.

I can't believe the year is almost up!

This is my fourth holiday season in Canada and I still find it weird that there are no fireworks outside and how quiet everything is compared to the Philippines. Every new year's eve I strain to hear even the faintest sound of fireworks and I'm always met with silence.

It's a habit of mine.. every new year's eve, we'd be at Quezon City spending it with family and relatives and I'd wait anxiously for midnight. In the meantime, the whole family would go to mass together, have dinner, listen to music and just talk and laugh and play games in the living room. I always looked forward to it because aside from Christmas, it was the one time of the year where I got to see and spend time with all my relatives. It's always fun and noisy and sometimes a little crazy.

Here in Canada, we try to stick to tradition as much as we can... going to mass on new year's eve, having an early dinner and preparing for media noche and all that... but I still find it very quiet. No phones ringing off the hook, no neighbors talking outside and no sound of fireworks in the distance. It's just really, really quiet.

I just spoke to my lola in Quezon City and in the background I could hear my aunts and uncles talking and how excited they were to hear from us. It feels so good to know that there are people on the other side of the world who think of us and who miss us and who love us very much even though we are very far from each other. There's nothing like Filipino family ties and Filipino friendships.

I read or hear about friends who came home for the holiday season and I can't help but feel a but envious... It would have been really nice to be able to come home to the Phils. even just for the holidays. I would have loved to see everyone.