2011 Thanksgiving Day 1 : My Family

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For most Catholics, yesterday morning was the start of their nine-day tradition of Simbang Gabi or attending the Evening Mass ‘til December 24th, before Christmas day. I’ve been a non-practicing Catholic for over a decade now and so I thought to myself, I should start my own nine-day ritual this year. I may be doing this differently, but the intention is the same.

I haven’t heard Mass for a long time. The last time I was in a Church was about the same time last year when my best friend got married. I’m still a believer, in case you’re wondering. I believe in God and I honestly feel we’re closer now than ever. :)

Right after college, I had a lot of realizations, not just related to my beliefs and religion, but with life in general. It was then that I realized I can talk to God anytime and anywhere I want and I don’t really need to go to Church to pray. As much as I’d like to share with you more about my faith in Him, I promise to write about it in a separate post. This one’s to start my own novena – NINE days of thanksgiving and prayers to God.

I am most thankful for my family. This year has been a true struggle for us financially, emotionally, and, most recently, physically because of some health issues we had to go through (my dad just had a successful eye surgery a few days ago). But, we managed to get through all those bumps on the road.

We’re not a perfect family. Oh, we’ve got flaws. We’ve had major arguments and petty fights this year. Though there are still a few unresolved issues now within our family, I know our love for each other will prevail in the end.

I remember this line from Gloria of Modern Family, my top favorite comedy TV series. It hit me real hard.

Family is family, whether it's the one you start out with, the one that you end up with, or the family you gained along the way.

No matter how dysfunctional your family may be, in the end, you will all still be there for each other, accepting and forgiving any flaw or wrongdoing the other has done to you. Well, at least, I can say that about my family…. or my feelings towards each of them.

I am confident to go on my path I am following now because I know they’ve got my back no matter what, especially my nanay. And I hope the next months or years will just bring us much closer together and get past all the hurt we’ve experienced this year.

I am thankful that we’re still one family, that my parents are still together. I’m thankful that my brother and I are closer than ever. I am thankful for all the blessings God has showered us this year. And I hope that our Christmas and New Year celebrations will make every single member of our family realize how lucky we are to have each other. :)

If I was given a chance to be born into a different family, I honestly would choose to be exactly where I am now. We may not be rich, but we make up for it with our determination to live life to the fullest with whatever we have. And for that, I will be forever thankful. :)