Family is Everything. A Glimpse at the Family Reunion We Missed

_{My mom (second from left) and her siblings.}

Earlier this year, my youngest aunt, based in Dubai has been telling me to book for a ticket to the Philippines for when she comes home. She'd like to organize a family reunion. She was not sure of the dates and somewhere in between she even had to shift jobs. Nonetheless, she was able to push for her homecoming and I, obviously, did not (crying a river here). 😭😭😭

Though there are thrift flights where you can opt to fly only (without baggage allowance), it still isn't cheap since there are 5 of us (my 3 children, husband and I) and the tickets can still cost around Dhs 8,000 ($2,200). That would still have to be from Dubai which is some 200kms away and a direct flight from Abu Dhabi would have cost us Dhs 10,000 ($2,700)

_{Screenshots from cebupacair.com and cleartrip.ae}

While I really wanted to be present at the homecoming, to spend around Php 100,000 for plane ticket alone does not sound practical for me especially when we have more pressing monetary needs here in the UAE (ahhhmm, hello house rent!). Besides, the maximum I can stay in Philippines would perhaps be 3 weeks and that would take a lot of coaxing my boss. Hence, I just cannot justify the cost of plane tickets alone, not to mention our allowance for the vacation.

I gave up on this last month and though it breaks my heart, it just cannot be.

I told my mom that it is just way too expensive and she agreed. In my heart, I am hoping that I can instead fly her and my dad here in the UAE in winter so they can at least spend a little time here with their grandchildren.

That is around 5 months from now and if it were to happen, I really need to work and pray hard for it.

Back to the reunion...

My cousins were very kind to keep us absentees updated on the happenings over at our little compound. They kept on feeding photos on our group chat and even posting updates on faecbook.

There was a thanksgiving mass in the morning where the cover pic was taken. This chapel is directly in front of my grandparents' home. They were surely looking down from heaven with huge smiles on their faces.👴👵

The kids - my cousins' children, most of whom I no longer recognize, surely had the time of their lives. Oh, my kids would have enjoyed had they been there too!

_{Oh! What a mess! LOL}

_{Hilarious!😂😂}

_{JD and chicken bbq must be a perfect match. 😩}

I'll not miss the next one!

While my family from my mother's side is definitely growing, it is still relatively small compared to my family from my father's side. My father has 8 siblings, we are 28 cousins all in all, not including our spouses. Then our respective children... I already lost count. It is harder to meet with my relatives from my father's side as most of us are abroad - UAE, Canada, Italy, US.

On my mom's side, my cousins practically live in the same compound in Manila and the rest are in my hometown hence, easier to organize a reunion like this one today.

Winter Vacation for my parents

My heart is now focused on making this one come true. I would like my parents to visit here in the UAE sometime in winter. Christmas would be lovely! 😍Then may be we can cap the vacation with a trip to Georgia for some snow.

Oh, I really wish! 🙏

Steem, be kind! LOL!

Possible, right?

❤️️arrliinn

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_{Photos grabbed from my crazy family.}

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_{banner by @enginewitty}