What makes you happy?
I mean really happy even the passage of time cannot diminish the forming of a smile of joyful contentment on your old and wrinkled face each time you think about it?
Call me corny or overly melodramatic, but mine was the superb weekend with my children where we immersed ourselves in sand, sea and sky within a bubble of pure, unadulterated togetherness.
What made it extra memorable is where we spent it in – in Hennan Resort in Panglao, Bohol, Philippines.
For the frequent traveler with guts and desire to try something exciting, exotic, enchanting, yet affordable, Panglao Island in the Philippines is not an unfamiliar place to have them all.
And if you want to put a touch of class to your adventure of discovery, Hennan Resort is the place to go. In fact, it has established quite a name the lobby was full of local, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, American and European guests when we checked in.
My daughter (who made the reservation) nailed the family room we stayed in perfectly. It was not too large, or too small, was well-furnished, and accommodated us all – I, my daughter and hubby, my son and wife, with enough space to move about without getting into each other’s way.
Our room provided a superb atmosphere to foster excellent bonding – something we never had as a family for a long time. And I relished every moment of it.
Hitting the Beach:
After settling in our room we immediately hit the beach
Hennan’s beach front is modest in length but its exceptionally white and powdery sand feels good to the soles of our tired feet, and its clear and clean waters are delightfully refreshing to both body and soul.
Like friends who have not seen each other for a long time, we swam, snorkeled, and shared funny stories and experiences. It was fun.
Every parent has a soft spot for his children and I am no different. My children are the centerpiece of my life and I overflowed with joy to see them connect with each other as flawlessly as a fiber optic cable.
Dining Together Makes the Food Taste Even Better:
The family that eats together stays together.
And when it comes to eating, Hennan leaves nothing to be desired. Its menu reflects the variety of its guests and they are all prepared to make you salivate and throw away your diet plan even just for a day.
More than just the food, was the chance to eat with my children. Since their Mom died, and since they got married, eating together has been as rare as a four-leaf clover. Like any live alone senior, I eat solo most of the time. And it sucks. It deadens your taste buds.
During that weekend, even if I had a poor man’s dish (which I didn’t), it would still have tasted like the food for kings.
Cloud 9 at Alona Beach:
Hennan Resort is along a stretch of white sandy beach called the Alona Beach.
It is not just a stretch of beach. It is where the nightlife of Panglao is centered. Panglao Island and Alona Beach are practically synonymous. You haven’t been to Panglao Island if you haven’t been to Alona.
Along its entire length are bars, coffee shops, hotels and motels, barbecue stands and just about anything anyone wants to see or do in the evening.
And it provided a perfect setting for me and my children to chill out after dinner.
Over coffee (for the women) and beer (for the men), we just hang loose, cozying up to each other with loose talk about nothing and everything.
For more than a couple of hours, I lived the moment – no body pains, no money issues, no loneliness stuff, and no thoughts of my age or tomorrow.
For a couple of hours I was in Cloud 9.
Counting My Blessings:
The Internet is rife with stories of elderly people left by family in nursing homes or retirement homes, forgotten and forsaken.
A couple of weeks ago, a Facebook post showed an old and decrepit man holding a placard appealing to his children in the U.S. – two doctors and two nurses – for help. At the bottom of the placard was written a message saying, “I need help. I spent my entire life working in the Middle East to spend for your education.”
It is uncertain if that was for real (it is so easy to make things like that nowadays). What is certain is that I am more blessed.
Yes, I live alone. I frequently suffer from feelings of loneliness, even depression. But I am never that far away for either or both and their spouses. I am always a part of their lives. Maybe not center stage because they have lives of their own, but never forgotten and forsaken.
We have our altercations every now and then. What parent/children don’t have? There are days when I don’t want to talk to my daughter. But we don’t burn our bridges. Not the kind of father to harbor feelings of ill-will towards his children for long, I always put the effort to sooth things out. And that’s probably why my children have not written me off, too.
Children are always beautiful in the eyes of their parents, from the moment of birth, till they breathe their last.
I cannot say anything less of mine. They may sometimes be over felicitous to the point of being irritating, rebellious at times, but those are things expected of parenthood. I never allow these to become a solid wall separating us both.
Nor do I allow these to deprive me of another chance of spending a fantastic weekend with my beautiful children. In fact my daughter is again planning to make another reservation for another up-scale resort in the same island.
That’s how blessed I am.
Are you as blessed as I am as a parent? I would appreciate to read of your experience as one.
~oOo~
