This afternoon was the real birthday celebration. Hehe!
For the past couple of birthdays, I've been spending my special day with kids from YWCA in Manila. It started when Xochi and I volunteered to prepare them for this cultural contest that Pahinungod was organizing. We didn't get to become the champion (second place though... hehe!) and when we had a victory get-together for the kids, it coincided with my birthday. Hehe! Since then, it's sort of been a tradition.
This year, I wasn't so sure if I was going to push through with the party for the kiddies because of the amount of work. But when I visited the DENR office last Monday, I saw a birthday party at a daycare center inside the compound. I took that as a sign, and as soon as I got back to the office, I made some phone calls and the date was set.
Next was to mobilize the people, I knew I could rely on Tey and Magsaysay friends to join the activity so they were the first ones I got in touch with. Tey volunteered to take care of the drinks. Monet, another colleague from work, donated some goodies for the loot bags. Shy, Cathy and Lenly volunteered to notify people and to take care of the loot bags. Former Magsaysay colleague Weng volunteered her husband Berlin to perform for the kids. Haha! The kids loved Berlin's antics last year, and I was sure that they're all looking forward to it again this year. Sharon brought her nice camera and took wonderful photos (though I still ahve to see them. The ones above are from another camera.) My brother Raymond volunteered to buy the ingredients for the food, since I was in Banahaw. My Mom and Dad took care of preparing and packing the meals, while my other brother Andre went with me to YWCA to bring the food.
This is why I love and believe in volunteerism. Things get done when people volunteer. And when you combine it with friendship, (almost always) the mission will be successful.
Anyway, I'm happy, really happy, with how things turned out. The kids had fun. My friends looked like they had fun. And everybody left with a nice, sweet smile on their faces. That should be a good sign. I wish my other friends could have joined but I know that since this was all so last minute, not everyone could go.
Big, big, big THANKS to everyone!!!
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