"This is just like a dream!"
Those were the words that mi Prima, Evelyn, exclaimed when she finally realized that she was in Manila, surrounded by family. Not just any family, but family that she hasn't seen in 20 years, and some family members that she's seeing for the first time.
Last night, the long anticipated reunion of the Morales family finally happened. Our family from Barcelona visited Manila again after almost 2 decades! Well, Tita Evelyn was here last 2011, but my cousins - Evelyn, Cristy, Esther and Yoly, were last in Manila in the late 80s. Esther's husband - Jorge - was last in Manila in 1994. But a big chunk of the group - my cousin-in-law Xavi, my nieces Alejandra, Maria, Vega, and nephews Lukas, Marcos, Alex, Enrique, Jacobo, Ernesto and Vito - were all first timers in the Philippines.
When they entered the room, they were visibly surprised at how big the family was.
Yup, we invaded and filled up a function room at Peking Garden, and that was just half of the family!
There were so many reasons why this reunion was such a special one. Aside from the immediate Murillo-Morales family, the Barrettos and the Garcias were also able to reconnect with Tita Evelyn, Tito Linden and Dad.
The second generation was missing a few cousins. Some of them were out of town, some were out of the country. One of my cousins said that it was a good excuse to hold another reunion - hopefully complete - in a year or two.
And finally, the 3rd generation of Morales kids were able to meet. It's the first time that the kids from Barcelona are meeting their cousins from Manila. They bonded quickly, and by the end of the night, some were already bar hopping, while others were having a slumber party at the hotel.
Everything about the reunion was perfect. The food, the conversation, the photos - all perfect. The conversation and photos were rowdy, but perfect. Especially our table!
The wonderful thing about this reunion is the fact that it felt so right that my cousins from Barcelona swore to do this again in 2 years or less. Reconnecting with Manila was such a wonderful experience for them and their families. And it's a reconnection that we're hoping will happen again very soon.
As Cristy put it aptly:
"We shouldn't wait for another 20 years to do this again."
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