24th

I wasn't in the mood to do anything today because

1. I stayed late to make birthday-salubong while eating Snickers
2. I'm in a bit of sunggod-mode because my mother is sort of busy with other people (drama much?)
3. I am not really keen on celebrating my birthday because of the recent death of my one and only sibling. Having fun with the family will only make me sad because it brings back painful memories of his sudden death less than four months ago.
   

Nevertheless, I cannot stop people from showing their love so we ended up having chicken adobo for lunch (thanks to my father's cousin for the chicken), ice cream and cake in the afternoon and a different chicken menu and valenciana for dinner. Life is good!

I know I'm having roller coaster of emotions for the past few days (maybe because it's my first birthday without my brother) but I am still thankful for all the blessings I received. I never thought that I'd last this long without going crazy because of sadness, grief and guilt (for acting like a spoiled little sister and for not spending more time with him). But then, I'm surrounded with a lot of people who show so much love and support so that makes grieving a little less painful.

Aside from overwhelming greetings through text and facebook posts, I also got a "birthday card" from my beloved nephew. It's not actually a traditional card but drawing of stick figures of me and him in a piece of paper I gave him a few weeks ago. I also got another "card" from another nephew upon learning that his cousin gave me something for my birthday. Those two never fail to make me smile always.

Another gift came from my office buddy - drawing of a girl holding a balloon. I'm not sure if the girl really looks like me but the hair and the shape of the lips can pass (peace! :P). Anyway, I'm still pleased with the drawing because at least he spent time and effort for that (and I envy him for being so good at drawing)... Thanks Leo! :)

This year's birthday maybe not be as fun as last year but as long as I'm with the people I love most and knowing that many relatives and friends remember me, it's more than enough.