And That's How We Spell Happiness

My momma always says "charity begins at home". I've never grasp the true meaning of it until I attended a short notice but planned Christmas party with my friends and together with the kids of Tuloy sa Don Bosco. This was the first time I attended such a fulfilling party. Christmas belongs to kids and to the kids at heart. :)

I met Carlo, a child formerly making bones in the streets of Manila. Found a home in the south. Met friends and eventually happy eating spaghetti and chicken with someone from the north. He loves math, praying before and after meals and basketball. These were enough for us to become friends.

and if charity begins at home, we can find happiness in the spirit of giving.

the joy of opening a gift given by a stranger in a far away place...

the giver who've found sense by sharing one Christmas with another. Me and Carlo.

then i was a kid again, like Carlo. It was magical! Pouring out sweat in a game which adults shall never understand.

Imagine this picture 20 years ago. Would our smiles be different in spite of our ages? Our smiles will still be the same as before.

We cherished our lives by seconds, minutes and hours. We've treasured not the sadness. But the number of times that you've been appreciated, loved and accepted.

Childhood was never forgotten by time. Time forgets that childhood belongs to anyone.

Along the way, we find friends that eventually become either a sister or a brother.

Such great things can never be outdone in distance. Especially if both sides have done significant things through such minimal chances. Indeed, it is, the time that we have given to a person that makes that person so important.

A pinch of happiness can be seen in the littlest corners of your smile.

You will stop becoming a child when you called the thing above my head as a party hat, instead of a Grimace name tag hat. Or worst, if you only saw a hat instead of an elephant swallowed by a boa constrictor. :)

Photos courtesy of venice furio, karen posadas and mabel.