Our Last Minute Shopping Spree and "Misa de Gallo" with My Daughters

Dinky with her aunts and uncles one Christmas...

My Erika still believes in Santa Claus at 10 years old!

Staying home and not doing anything is really such a drag. Day in, day out, I see my mother in law staring at me, waiting for the moment when I'll get up and shirt up for work. After several days of staying at home and do nothing, she still believes that I'm just home for my leave. What she refuses to believe is the fact that I'm not working anymore at this time.

There are also some rewards that I get when I stay at home. For one, me and my wife Gina can do a lot of things together which we normally try to squeeze in our difficult schedule. This time, we just have to think about it and just do it. Like going to Divisoria to do our last minute Christmas shopping. That was really a treat. She just wore her new street shoes and got callouses from it. She's not used to wearing shoes, and according to her, the last time she did was way, way back, when she was still studying. She prefers sandals and slip-ons instead. This time, she has to wear one for the simple reason of just enjoying what I bought her. We have to buy band aid for her ankle to minimize the friction. Eventually the band aids gave up at the end of the day so we have to end all the shopping in the afternoon.

We were able to buy all that we need for the family. We missed out some people in our list so we have to run back to a nearby mall to complete our magic list. This day also marks the start of Christmas vacation for those that are in schools. So the mall is flooded by young people who are all trying to have fun with their friends by doing their last get together for the year. We used to do that as well during my St. Martin years way back in high school. We even prepare for it by saving some of our allowances just to make sure that the group is together after the classroom's Christmas party celebration.
During our time, we bring extra food to share with everyone. Nowadays, classrooms cater for their Christmas party. So food establishments all over the country profit well during this time of the year.

Not having any work also puts me in a situation where I can't say no or come up with excuses not to do something. And what may that be? It's accompanying my daughter to the dawn masses. It's a tradition to attend all 9 dawn masses or better known as misa de gallo by the Filipino catholics. Some religiously do it every year while some do it just for the thrill of being with friends and relatives for it. They say that if one completes all 9 dawn masses, their wish or petition to God will be given. My daughter Erika won't take no for an answer and made sure that I'll be with her on her first dawn mass participation. She'll be part of the choir and she wants to complete all 9 masses. She slept early and said that she'll wake me up at 2:00 to prepare. What? The mass starts at 4:00 in the morning! Why should she be awake at that time? She said that she wants to prepare well for it, and will really make sure that she's at her best. She needs to come earlier than the regular patrons because she has to practice her songs for the choir. How can one say "no" to such a request?

My eldest daughter came home late today because she joined her friend for some jingle Kringle or Christmas carols for profit. I failed to ask her how much she made for the night.She said that she'll also wake up at dawn to attend the traditional mass. Well for sure, my wife will have the bed all to herself...