IslanderView Digital Magazine January 2018 | Page 8

mas with a mass then moved on to
spots and it was always beautiful.
the rest of the celebration… going to
amen or nginge’ grandparents, both She would decorate the rest of the
mom & dad’s side then home to house also. We lived in Sinajana,
“hopefully” open our gifts. then Chalan Pago, Mongmong and
As young kids, we would receive our finally ended up in Ordot in our very
gift when we went to amen but were own home. I remember the visits as
not allowed to open them until we it was being built and then the mov-
got home. As a kid, I thought this ing in. Our very own home! Wow!
was mean because our cousins were
allowed to open theirs! (smiling)
Our parents purchased furniture and
appliances at Town House...yup that
Dad would play Santa Claus and to one! We had a complete living room
make our waiting even more set and a floor model color TV, OMG
“painful”, he would not give gifts out it was a big deal in 1978!! Color TV
until we changed out of mass clothes with a remote?! Oh my!!
and ate breakfast, more like brunch!
Of course, we forgot all about that Christmas came just a bit early that
when we tore open the wrappers! year for the whole family and our
mom started her Christmas traditions
Christmas trees! We did not always in that home for the next 25 years.
have a tree… our first tree was sus- Our nana Flores, grandmother on
piciously very much a “Charlie dad’s side gave her a belen/nativity
Brown” Christmas tree… remember set and we started a nobena that
that? Barely any leaves or needles! would end on Dec 23rd every year.
We loved it anyway!! Mom would This happened to be my sister Chris-
decorate it and fill in all the bald tine’s birthday and so it seemed ap-
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