TERESITA TANSECO-CRUZ
Christmas Day has always seen our family of siblings, spouses, children, and grandchildren, like countless other families, gather in celebration of Christ coming to be with us and of us being with our loved ones. It is a tradition.
This year, however, circumstances did not allow our treasured, anticipated family gathering to take place. A tradition had been broken, though hopefully it can be restored. But a possible additional one for me has been revealed.
My husband and I welcomed just three members of our own family to our home for Christmas lunch and for the first time, also the family of our driver Martin, which included his wife Fe ( who’s our housekeeper) and their three grown children – Mart, Marvie and Mark. I know there are families for whom this is not a novel or strange idea – to sit at one’s table and break bread with the people who serve us through the year as household staff. But in this culture, it is more of an exception than a rule. And it certainly was a first for me.
The celebration started with a Mass said by my brother, followed by lunch. Marvie’s responses at Mass, said in English, were as clear as that of my family members. The rest of her family attended in silent reverence. Perhaps her brothers, who could have followed Marvie’s lead, were just too shy. But her parents could not have done so even if they wished. Neither Martin nor Fe had been educated beyond Grade School, while their children all completed High School, with Marvie now a college graduate and Mark soon to follow suit.
In the heart-tugging poignance of a few moments, as Marvie responded at Mass capably and confidently, I witnessed how she had “ left her parents behind” and broken the legacy of limitations. I could almost see her wings. Yet I felt the unmistakable pride, hope, and gratification that Martin and Fe have in their children. And indeed, they must find joy in the closeness and strength of their family. In this, they need no diplomas, only love, and being there for one another, looking out for one another. I do know that in the flurry and happy noise of putting the feast on the table with my niece Joanna, sister- in- law Nena, as well as Martin and Fe and Mart and Marvie and Mark, I felt my own joy of us all being one unit, no matter who drives for whom or who cleans house for whom because we serve one another in brotherhood and sisterhood under one Father.
The spirit of Bethlehem’s stable was alive at our table because a family had gathered as God had wished it. And this is how it came to pass that the Christ Child sat with us at Christmas lunch this year in a way He had not done before. Maybe because I am finally getting His plan for me – to travel the long but humbling, graced journey from pompous innkeeper to lowly shepherd.
God is all.
It is a beautiful story which only a few can do or have done in our amo-katulong world. Your example of breaking social barriers to experience even for a short while equality among the brothers and sisters of Christ is heartwarming. May God bless you more as you continue to set an example and inspire us to be more open to our less blessed ones.
Baby, thanks for sharing your story….it never crossed my mind to do it.
We have a Christmas party in the office for our small staff and drivers, for Mom’s and our kasambahays, all of whom have been with us from ten years to decades. We divide them into teams and each group has to supervise a game that’s fun and funny; all for General Patronage because my only apo (3 yrs.) has been attending since he could stand up. We have sabog of coins, bills flown like airplanes; exchange gifts. They also get what they wrote in their Wish List. And of course we end with a meal for all of us.
But next Christmas we will also invite the family of our cook and housekeeper to our home; then the following year, our secretary and her family. Many thanks for this wonderful idea!!!
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