OK, we know it's already 2009, but we can't let go of 2008 without giving some thanks for the truly incredible year our family has had. And it truly was a filled and blessed year for us, which is also our way of explaining why this blog update is so late.
The overriding theme of the entire 2008 for our family is one of bonding. Throughout the many months, despite the pressures of work, social events or school (as the cases may be), we seem to have found time to be with one another, whether on the Valdes side clowning around in our Santa hats or in more formal gear on the Prieto side.
On our own too, we were lucky to carve out trips for ourselves, starting with Easter in Oz, where Ty, Annika and Dennis took surfing lessons and the rest just enjoyed the brilliant sunshine. It's the first time Tessa and Dennis have gone to Australia and not hit a golf ball even once.
But as the kids grow up (too fast!), we find that hanging out with them is far more rewarding. Besides, isn't the beach just like one big sand trap? It's amazing how much more we seem to interact with one another when a half day for a round of golf isn't part of the plan.
We also had many chances to bond in smaller subsets. Annika turned ten and had a major dance party, thanks to Mommy's planning and execution. Tessa needs very little excuse to throw a party and Daddy has learned that the best thing to do when this happens is to just stay out of the planning.
Tyrone and Dennis spent a week scuba diving in Coron, Palawan, during their annual father-son trip. Coron is still fairly undeveloped, where the term resort doesn't imply air conditioning or massages on the beach, i.e., Mommy may not like it. But diving inside a Japanese warship is an adventure for a 12-year-old boy whose major complaint was that in between dives, he couldn't log on to the web.
Perhaps the one thread that kept the bonding going throughout the year though, was Tessa's quest to finish the New York Marathon in November. A 42K run demands a year of training and as part of the run-up, she convinced Dennis and his brother, Robin, to join the O3 Triathlon with her in August. As Tessa only needed to do the 30K run, Dennis would start the 4K swim and then Robin would do the 120K bike. The big joke, of course, was that if Dennis didn't complete the swim, what would happen? With a lot of hard work, our team ended up third among the relay teams in the event, so we got our Olympic medal-biting moment in.
By November, Tessa was fully prepped and finished her first marathon in 5:27. OK, it's not as fast as Oprah, but then again the Sea Princess wasn't gunning for any records. Our family celebrity did make it to the front page, not of the Inquirer, but oddly enough of the rival Manila Standard Today. Tessa is now struggling with whether to continue her running career or add it to her been-there-done-that checklist and move on.
Another fun bonding moment was when the Valdes Family battled the Aguilar Family on Family Feud in late November. Beauty queen Carlene and her family got to 299-0, a point shy of winning, but we regrouped to win the prize for the day despite some memorable lapses. (Q: Anong pagkain ang mabaho? A: Tae!) The Valdeses quickly donated our win to the budget for the our parents 50th wedding anniversary on December 27.
Jess and Cynthia's golden day included a tango performance by the three Valdes boys and their better halves. Over a hundred people showed up at the Forbes Park Pavilion, which none of the three boys had imagined possible, given the RSVP's. (Mental note: your parents are popular and people will go to their parties!) It was a great chance to reconnect with so many relatives and friends that we haven't seen over the years, from our Bacolod days even!
We capped off the year with a complete family trip to Japan, sans yaya Juvy and including Jeanine Buenaventura, Bryan's girlfriend of three years. (His very well written contribution to this blog is on the next page.) It's amazing to see how huge the twenty-year gap is between our eldest and youngest children. But as we traveled around by shinkansen and moved from hotel to hotel, Tessa and Dennis are also very proud of what each of their kids is growing up into, whether it is one taking his first steps in the business world or one making her first forays in her childhood or two at all the different stages in between.
With all of us having had such a wonderful 2008, we can only hope that you, too, had a great year and that 2009 brings more of the same for all of us. Happy New Year!
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