The best Christmas gift I have ever received wasn't really a particular thing nor was it specifically given to me. It was during the Christmas of 1994, when I was only seven-years-old, that I experienced my first family reunion. My entire mother's side of the family came to the Philippines to celebrate the wedding anniversary of my grandparents. For the first time, I met my uncles, aunties, and cousins from America. We played role-playing games, hide-and-seek, and ran around the restaurant during the wedding reception. I had so much fun, and those few days seemed like heaven (or Neverland). I wished they would never end. But now, my cousins and I have all grown up and inevitably apart. Although we still see each other from time-to-time when I visit America or they come to the Philippines, our interactions with each other cannot compare to the pure joy and innocence with which we related during that Christmas of 1994.
