IT’S DAY 30- WOOHOOO! Sunday, April 26th, 2020 was my Uncle Rolly’s (Rolando) 65th birthday. He’s the 2nd oldest out of the 4 siblings, with my dad as the eldest. We most likely would have gone out to eat at a restaurant for his birthday…but since everyone is still on lockdown, we ordered take-out and had Filipino food for dinner. Before I get started with that, let me catch you up with everyone else that lives in this house…
My cousin, Randy, recently purchased his first home (Congratulations!) and will be staying here for approximately 5 months while he waits for his new place to be built…He also has 2 twin girls ( Mila and Gigi) that will be staying with us as well! Uncle Rolly and Auntie Ching (Rachel) are also his parents, so he’s living back to where he grew up as a kid…Mila and Gigi sleep in his old room while Randy sleeps in the bonus room downstairs. This is a big house, so thankfully we still have our own personal space.
As for myself, I’ve been living in this house since moving down from the Bay Area in October of 2018. Auntie and Uncle have let family and close friends live in this house for as long as they’ve owned it, starting as far back as the late 1980’s. In fact, both sides of their family have moved in to this house from the Philippines, so that they can settle in to the U.S. and begin their own lives. Now, those same people are all successful with their own family, career, and home! So, when I asked to move in with them to get my life back on track, this was nothing new to Auntie and Uncle- I just had to agree to their house rules- which is to continue to work hard in my career and help around the house. They have brought me in as if I was their own son and will forever be thankful for them.
Ok, so now you’re all caught up with the backstory! Now, back to these photos….
Uncle picked up the food (hand-selected of his favorite dishes) from West Covina…That’s where most Filipinos go to get the “goods.” Once we finished setting up the dinner table, I brought my camera down to snap a few photos of the food. As soon as I finished that, he quickly snatched the first pieces of lumpia. Once the rest of my roommates arrived downstairs, the girls sang happy birthday to him! I took a few more photos of the family and started eating right away. This was the first time in a longgg time that I’ve been so full from eating for the entire day!
I also purposely posted this as my last feature because it’s the same message that I have been trying to address to you this whole time: Family is everything to me. And we are all thankful for each other and take care of one another. In this time of unforeseen issues in the world, I am happy and equally lucky to be stress-free in this home.
Thank you to everyone who have been reading about my life over the past 30 days. I appreciate you and it doesn’t go unnoticed. I also hope that you are well out there, wherever you are. Continue to still wash your hands and continue to check and take care of one another! This will all be over with soon.
With love,
Justin Andrew Tabije