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Allow me to briefly narrate how a simple but beautiful birthday celebration went for a Marikenya…

In my last article, A Girl’s Simple Birthday Wish, I admitted what I wanted for my birthday is a house and lot, a really big dream. To humor myself though and to make the first step towards achieving this goal of a lifetime, I started my d-day by attending a morning seminar on housing loan at PagIbig in Atrium, Makati. With my luck, I met a very nasty and rude guy who was determined to ruin my day! But I was more determined to save my happiness for my birthday so I just gave him some calm words and walked away. The seminar was a success, I learned what I needed to learn, if and ever, I would decide to get a housing loan from PagIbig.

Next in the agenda was eating lunch. Our group consisting of my good friends Ninang Baybee, Ate Andrea and Ate Lisa and my hubby decided to hit it big for lunch by going to a buffet restaurant, the Kamayan Dads Saisaki! The last time I was in this place was four years ago and I really enjoyed their meal. The restaurant will provide you options, you can go Filipino or Japanese for more than three hundred (300) pesos or try everything on the house for more than five hundred (500) pesos which they call crossover. We decided to go Filipino and ravished the local dishes with gusto. We were even serenaded by the in-house musicians with a birthday song for me! Perfect!

Last stop was going to the church with my family. We went to our parish church, San Isidro Labrador in Nangka and decided to pray solemnly at the Tavern. Inside, I asked my husband to pick a prayer book for me. God must really love me so much he must have guided my husband in picking the prayer book because the introductory hymn in it seemed to be a direct message from God for me:

Lose yourself in me and you will find yourself
Lose yourself in me and you will find new life
Lose yourself in me and you will find yourself
and you will live, yes, you will live in my life.

I cried with happiness after praying in the Tavern. It was a wonderful experience to have a brief but solemn dialogue with God.

On the way home, my husband bought me a perfect gift — a very big watermelon! Watermelon is my most favorite fruit so I was very happy with it. The night before, my son and my husband surprised with artworks they made for me with dedications too touchy I cried a lot.

My day was so big, bigger than the watermelon. To my family and friends who showered me with so much love yesterday, thank you all! I felt very special on my birthday because of you and I am very grateful to God for another year of living, loving and being loved. Thank you!

Related posts:

1. A Girl’s Simple Birthday Wish
2. The Birthday Trip
3. Do you want to be Happy or Sad?
   The Guide to Living the Life You Want
4. A Birthday Girl’s Wishlist…
5. The Perfect Birthday Treat for Moms