Of Families and Happy Memories

When a certain group of friends form a special bond, they become family. It may not be as funny or as exciting as Joey, Phoebe, Monica, Chandler, Rachel and Ross but a family is a family.

I have a family.

We spend the whole day together and shared stories about each other. We had breakfast at their place and had dinner at my place. They told me things about their lives and I shared them my own. I learned a lot from them. They learned a lot from me. I remember telling them about Jaye, how much I love her and how much I missed her and they helped me complete my Debbie project – my big surprise for Jaye.

It was October 2006. I was flying home to Manila being the first person to leave. Before leaving, we had a serious moment and I shared that I was sad because things will never be the same again. This is the way this part of our lives go. They countered that nothing will change and I nodded my head not to agree but because I knew none of them have walked this path before. I had. None of them understood but I want them to continue on with positive thoughts. I don’t have to drag them down didn’t I?

Almost a year has passed now. All but one has flown back to Manila. One moved to another company. One moved to another country. One got married. One will be married later this year. Lorna and I were the only ones left in Chicago and when she flew home, everything pretty much ended there. Just like I predicted, things were never the same again. The way the cards have been shuffled, it will never be.

I have a family… well… had a family. I still have them as friends, but family, I don’t think so.

I miss everyone. Everything we did. Everything we shared. Every single detail. They all have moved on. I have moved on too as I have my better half now and a million plans.

Sad? Yep.

Regret? None at all.

Some people, even if they only appear in a chapter or at least a page in our life can make a big difference. In the end, it's not how long they appear or how many times they are mentioned but it's how much they made you what you are today.