adobo at kare-kare at kaibigan at pamilya...

i miss pinas...sometimes i have my wishful thinking...sometimes i wish and pray that life worked out for me thousands of miles back home and that i didnt feel like i had to escape from reality. after years of staying here, i still think that pinas was my reality and this is my willy wonka chocolate factory. home is where the authentic fatty adobo and crispy sizzling sisig and tender oxtail kare-kare. more so, home is where the all nighters at dg's and sessions at the condo and coming back to a home-cooked meal.
home is where the heart is. then i must have multiple beating organs. my heart is where my culture is not a minority but a way of life. my heart is where the language is not a barrier but a means of coherence and understanding. my heart is where my friends are not just hanging out partners but family. my heart is where family is not just branded but proven by blood.
home is where the heart is. i reminisce at the past and the good old times...with my family, with my friends, with my loves and heartbreaks. but who's to say that it is not the same here. i now have family that do care for me regardless of DNA. i now have friends to hang out with that are also family whether times are up or down. i now have a way of life that includes me in this cultural setting that makes me feel accepted not discriminated. i now have someone i love and loves me back unconditionally that i wouldn't mind spending the rest of my life with him.
i guess what im saying is that i have come to a realization. funny...after 4yrs of being away from home, i've only now accepted my second home. this place is also home. the saying "home is where the heart is" became my conundrum. it consumed me with confusion and sadness for a long time that i have looked pass the good things i have. what has happened to me in the last few months of back to back challenges has gifted me with so many blessings. i was given a setback but was offered by others a comeback...and it was true for each and every problem i had. the lord did not leave me fallen, he gave me instruments to help me back up and into the world of living again and again.
home is where you make it to be. it does not matter whether i am in pinas or not...when i come back, i know that is my home. i have friends and family that will not fail to remind me what home is like. and when i am here, i likewise have friends and family that will keep making me feel that i have not missed the life of the past but only the people i have left behind. you cannot have multiple hearts but you can definitely have multiple homes. you are only as estranged as you make yourself to be.
yes...i will be such a hypocrite to say that i do not miss my papa's adobo, my mama's pineapple spareribs, dencio's sisig and gerry's crispy kang-kong. i do miss them. but i can live with nanay gloria's kare-kare and goldilock's bagoong fried rice for now. it is not a matter of life or death and there is no point in wasting energy in salivating.
this is my home for now, and i have smiled at that realization. i may have many challenges but i am, so far, content. i may not be completely happy, but i am content. and soon i will go back to pinas and feel at home in a nanosecond...without any doubt. home is where you make it to be...