Bonding Time With My Family

November 28 and 29 were another memorable days for me and my family.  In observance of my milestone post-birthday celebration, we spent an overnight accommodation at Orchid Garden Suites located along Pablo Ocampo, Sr. (formerly Vito Cruz), in front of Century Park Sheraton. We had planned it almost a year ago (yes, that's how excited we were in celebrating my 40th birthday this year) and we're happy that it pushed through because it was another bonding time for the whole family.

When we arrived at around 2PM, we just stayed in the room and watched cable programs until 3:30 when we went out for a merienda at the nearby KFC. Afterwards, we proceeded to SM in Harrison Plaza to buy the kids' apparel for Christmas. Then, we attended the anticipated mass in the mall's chapel and had dinner at Mang Inasal beside KFC.

The next day was swimming time for me and the two kids, together with our kasambahay. Wifey didn't feel like swimming but still went with us to the pool to take our photos. Our eldest, Clare, decided to stay inside the room because she was not feeling well. When we checked out, we decided to just buy RBX (rice in a box) and eat our lunch inside the bus so we could go home early and take some more rest in the afternoon.

The overnight accommodation may not have been enough but it was more than enough for us who have been blessed with a little extra money to spend on pleasures such as this. It would have been wiser of me had I invested the money in income-generating activities than spend it on leisure acitivites that would not increase my wealth. But who cares? I would not trade the happiness I saw on the faces of my wife and kids yesterday and today for anything in this world. We may not have that vast riches but the happy memories I share with my family are more than the material wealth I may be able to accumulate in this lifetime.

I look forward to having another bonding moment with my family. To paraphrase a famous slogan, "The family that bonds together stays together." Aside from praying together, which by itself is a form of bonding activity, I think families should spend more time with each other to nurture their relationships and keep it intact. Spending some fortune is not always necessary to bodn with the whole family. Just staying home and doing things together like eating together, watching the television together, doing the kids' assignments together, etc. these are simple things that families can do to keep the relationship intact without necessarily spending. What say you?