Happy Birthday!

To me! Ha!

Actually it was last week. I just can't think of any title so I just greeted myself a happy birthday. Is that even legal? Hahaha...

Yep, I turned another corner. Another year passed...hoping to get to the next one. Isn't that what we all want? To go another year and then some.

My birthday used to be a big deal. That was before I moved... It was a big deal when I was back in the Philippines.  It's a big deal not because it's my birthday though but because it's All Saint's Day there. For those who are not familiar what All Saint's Day is, it is the day when we remember our dearly departed ones. Well, not just remember since we can do that anytime of the year anyway. We can say, it's 'THEIR' day because it's all about them. How? First, their 'tombs are cleaned and relatives and friends drop by their resting place to light a candle and offer a prayer or two as well as some flowers to them. Loved ones stay by 'them' for hours usually catching up and playing games. Some even camp out there and eat there. Yep, it's like a picnic in the cemetery I must say. Our local cemetery back home is usually bursting with people on this day from morning until midnight. That's how big of a deal my birthday...err...All Saint's day is back home. If only for that reason, my birthday back then was always a happy one. I may not know 99.9% of the people in the cemetery but it was fun watching hundreds of people walk past you on your birthday.

Now that I'm 12,000 miles away from all that, my birthday is no longer the same. I don't think it will ever be the same anyway. Does it mean it's not a happy birthday anymore? Not really. It's still a happy birthday for me. I don't celebrate it with as many people anymore but I have the most important people with me. That to me is enough reason to have a very happy birthday.