Toblerone's Thank You Day "Spread the Sweetness of Gratitude" Photo Contest

October 30 of this year marks the third National Thank You Day, sponsored by Toblerone (which happens to be my favorite brand of chocolate, mmm mmm). On this day, we are encouraged to think about the things and people we should be grateful for.

This blog, for one, is called "Simpleng Kaligayahan" because I am fond of saying "Thank goodness for simple pleasures." This blog, therefore, is my way of being grateful for the simple pleasures, knowing that the little things are often what makes us appreciate life more, that "the best things in life are simple."

I am grateful for so many things, for the delights of food and drink, of books and music, poetry and drama, television and movies, art and dance. I am grateful that photography and writing can help me capture special moments or viewpoints so that they will not pass by unnoticed and unrecorded. I am grateful for an idiosyncratic family that tried its best to instill in us the appreciation of life's finer things and the pursuit of knowledge. I am grateful for living in a beautiful, although much misunderstood, country, and for the wonderful diversity of its ecology and its culture.



Above all, however, I am most grateful for friends who "adopted" me in my lonely sojourns here in Manila, who have been such wonderful surrogate sisters and whose clan has been such a wonderful "adoptive" family over the five years I have been here, especially during the times when I could not go home to my own family. The three of us were born within a month of one another and have the same zodiac sign. Despite the differences in our ages, we choose one day each year in which to celebrate our joint birthday and go on a girl's day (and night) out, and indulge in some bonding, as shown in the photo in this blog post.

So, to Eva and Joan and the Concepcion family of Pandi, Bulacan, thank you.