Days of Our Life
By: Ma. Theresa P. Valdes

    The whole of December was simply a riot. My insomnia attacked every night, so much so that I would sleep just before the Misa de Galo bells would ring to call in the churchgoers. I painstakingly wrapped every gift except for the ones marked “generic” because I was just too exhausted to worry about the alignment of the scotch tape from end to end. My average 2:00 a.m. “in bed” schedule quickly moved to 4:00 a.m. And because of the additional workload, I’d get up at 9:00 a.m. anyway. Whatever happened to the true meaning of Christmas!

    Presented in this issue is the official Prieto-Valdes family photo for 1999. If last year’s theme was royalty, (… like the “first family” of the oval office) this year it’s butterflies … like a symbol of hope, new beginning for the coming millennium. (Actually, I just started this theme ‘coz I overbought hand-painted butterflies in one of the Rotary bazaars.)

    My saddest day was December 26. Obviously because on that day I had stopped shopping for awhile. Of course, today is the beginning of a new millennium of shopping. So I’m already looking forward to everything in store for the shopper in me in
the Year 2000. Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all had a great Holiday season.