Reaching the 12th month of the year marks the approach of the year’s end. It is a time for gathering with family and loved ones, exchanging gifts, celebrating Christmas, and preparing for the new year ahead.
As I walked through the mall, I couldn’t help but notice the wide variety of planners—each with beautiful designs, well-organized pages, and high-quality covers. Are you one of those people who loves picking up a new planner for the upcoming year? I am, too, but I’ve never been able to consistently stick with it all the way through December. That’s why I’m so impressed by those who manage to record their plans and activities regularly, whether in a traditional notebook or a digital planner.
Today marks the first day of December, and it’s also my father’s birthday! Birthdays are always special to me because they remind me to thank God for another year of life, for the gift of time, and for the opportunity to celebrate the person being honored.
Life is unpredictable, and we can never truly know how long we’ll have with our loved ones. That’s why it’s so important to cherish every moment—because living life to the fullest means making the most of the time we have, even though we can’t always predict what lies ahead.
We went to church this morning, as Sundays are a time for us Christians to gather, pray, and reflect. My dad wore a red shirt, and after Mass, the priest surprised him by mentioning his name to the congregation. It made my dad feel happy, special, and truly grateful.
After Sunday Mass, we headed to the nearby mall to celebrate my father’s birthday. My mom preferred to stay home after lunch, as she didn’t want to travel to different places on my dad’s special day. She believes in the “pamahiin” (Filipino superstitions) that suggest it’s best to remain at home.
We were all happy with our lunch, thanks to the delicious food prepared by Mesa Restaurant. The only downside was that the serving time was a bit longer than I expected, especially since we only ordered a few dishes. But I understand—it was lunchtime, so there were a lot of orders to accommodate. Once the food arrived, though, everything was worth the wait because we were all so hungry!
After enjoying our delicious lunch, we planned to relax at a coffee shop, but my sister spotted a “Caramia Cake” stall and decided to buy a cake for my dad’s birthday. What I love about Caramia Cake is that they offer free samples of their different flavors. The one that caught our attention the most was the Black Forest variant, so that’s what my sister chose for our dad.
After buying the cake, we headed home to relax and bond with each other. I can truly vouch for how close we are and how much we enjoy being home together!