crawling into my cocoon

I just got back from a one day recuperation in Calumpit, Bulacan--my grandparents' place. It was a welcome break and I was glad I went with my Ma the last minute. I felt a bit sad seeing them again, I guess they have this certain look imprinted in my mind when I was little and seeing them older makes me a bit sad, I just want to hold them and freeze time so they won't get any older than they are now. It was my nanay's 76th birthday and also the little town's fiesta so it was a sort of a time travel for me. Its like the place is untouched by the changing times. From the old ladies dancing on the streets in the parade, the "Poons" being paraded, to our mini villa, the stuff inside the house make me a bit nostalgic. I guess I have more memories from Bulacan than my older sisters who have more memories from Mindoro. I woke up yesterday morning because of the chirping of the birds, I may sound like a fruitcake but I could just gush about it on and on. I just ate the whole day and lazed around the beautiful place. I thought to myself, everyone should have a little piece of heaven like this. A safe cocoon where you can crawl at times when the world seems a bit too big and crowded and life too uncertain. It shouldn't just be a beautiful place but a place where its charm lies in its memories.

One thing really nice about the little villa aside from its airy, relaxed atmosphere is its very beautiful garden. I've seen a lot of gardens but what's most charming about the place is its single-handedly maintained and taken care of by my nanay. You can see really well that every flower, even the swing maintained all these years (All our cousins' fave spot), hold something, a story only those who experienced them can tell. Its not the same when we were younger when my tatay can cook the whole day and nanay can flutter nonstop around the house. Time slowed them down. Alzheimer's made my Grandpa a bit too trying at times. My tatay held Paolo captive for two hours with his incessant talk about the past and Paolo, bless him (i'm proud of him!) held on like a brave man. =) Its sad when you see the place unchanged, unmoved by time yet the two people, the very people who made the place magical seem getting older: greying, fading...and you can't do anything about it except make good memories and someday... someday, hopefully, they may be enough.