CHRISTMAS SHARINGS - Pons

Ang Sarap Umuwi…

Sino man, o alin mang nilalang na may buhay at damdamin, ay may natural at sapilitang udyok ng puso na bumalik o umuwi sa pinanggalingan. Dalawang salitang malalim at makabuluhan ang nilalaman. Dumadalo tayo sa mga party, kasalan, binyagan, outing at piknik, minsan pa ay out of town, tulad ng tours, excursions, upang magsaya at makakita ng ibang lugar, makakain ng ibang putahe, magkaroon ng ibang kakilala ngunit ang pinaka masarap madinig ay….umuwi na tayo…..tara na, umuwi na tayo.

Kung mayroong time machine na masasakyan upang lumipat ng panahon, pasulong man o pabalik…..sasakay ako pabalik. Sa ngayon ay alaala na lamang ang sasakyan na magagamit…

Naaalaala ko noon, kapag malapit na ang Pasko ay excited ako sa paggawa ng parol, naghahanap ako ng kawayan, tinitilad nang maliliit, pinapakinis at ginagawang katawan ng parol, at pagkatapos ay dinadamitan ng makulay na papel,…..luntian , pula, dilaw at puti ang pangkaraniwang gamit kung pasko.
Kandila ang nagpapaliwanag na maingat na inilalagay sa loob upang di masunog ang damit ng parol.

Isa lang ang parol na isinasabit ko. Maliit ang bahay namin, mababa, at lima lang ang baytang ng hagdan, pawid ang bubong, kawayan ang sahig na may mga silat pa doon at dine.

Ang sarap umuwi…

(Thank you, Pons. Your sharing which was the first one I received, set the tone of our Christmas recollections. Tunay na napakasarap ang mga salitang “umuwi na tayo… tara na… umuwi na tayo…” Ang nalalarawan sa ating isipan kapag sinasambit ito ay isang tahanang naghihintay sa ating pagdating. Bukas ang mga durungawan, may mukhang nakasungaw na dagling sisilayan ng ngiti kapag tayo ay natanaw. At gayon ang mga gunitang ating binabalikan. Parang yapos ng mga bisig ng isang inang nagmamahal sa isang anak na dumadalaw… Dahil in essence, ganoon ang ginagawa natin ngayon. Tayo ay namamasyal, not through a time machine, but through the wings of memories.

At dahil nabanggit ang “pag-uwi”, naalaala ko ang isang phenomenon na nakita namin kamakailan. Si Smiley o Isang “smiling face” sa pisngi ng langit. Nanonood kami ng telebisyon nang ipakita ito sa news. Kaagad kaming tumakbo sa labas ng bahay at tumingala sa langit. At doon ay nakita nga namin ang dalawang maningning na planetang Jupiter at Venus na nagmistulang mga mata at ang first quarter moon na nagsama-sama in such a way na waring sila ay isang nakangiting mukha. Kaagad naming kinuhanan ito ng larawan, inilagay sa computer at ipinadala sa isang kaanak na nasa abroad with the caption – Smiling Face in Marikina Sky.

In this connection, narito naman ang kwento ng aking anak na nasa East Coast na tumanggap ng nasabing larawan ni Smiley. Inutusan raw niya ang kanyang seven-year old daughter to bring some goodies to their neighbor playmates. Her daughter saw the extraordinary brightness of the stars, but not as smiley, but in a sort of inverted position. Either it was too early in the evening that she was out, or it was how the phenomenon was seen at the other side of the globe. Nevertheless, her daughter just couldn’t stop talking about it, full of wonder and amazement, till she showed her daughter the picture of Smiley as it appeared in the Marikina sky.

That was when my granddaughter, born in USA, wistfully exclaimed: I wish we were going home!

Intrigue by the little girl’s pronouncements, I asked my daughter what her daughter meant by “home”. Marikina is never a home to her, just some place in the Philippines she has visited three times before.

This was my daughter’s explanation. A few weeks before, for “Mama time”, she and her daughter did some errands, picked up some books in the library and went malling in a place that felt familiar with an almost overpowering smell of Chinese food wafting from the basement food court and which reminded my daughter of Glorietta 4 and SM. This was where my own daughter kept exclaiming, "oh, this reminds me of home", every so often. She also kept asking her daughter, "doesn't this remind you of SM?"

Home. That's probably what triggered the little girl’s pronouncement . Between the smells, the smiling heavens, and some pictures from Marikina, the little girl’s heart beats for home.

Her Mama's home. My daughter’s home!

At pagsapit ng Kapaskuhan, kahit saang lupalop ng daigdig tayo naroroon, hindi maitatatuwang, sumisingit, naliligaw, umaagaw ng kaunting sandali, ang damdamin ng pag-uwi.)