Twenty one hours and counting down to the time I have been dreading these past few weeks. I’m starting to miss them already, and they are still here.

It seems like a lifetime ago when they arrived in Abu Dhabi early on a Thursday morning. I remember their tired but smiling faces as they ran out to my open arms. I thought I would cry when we finally get into a tight hug but I was so happy I did not even have time to cry.

It has been wonderful having these two around, esp for Patrick who loved being able to ask his Kuya or Ditche a question about anything and not have to wait for them to reply on Facebook. The times when they were sharing stories, laughing at jokes or at me and the things I say and do far outnumber the times when they were bickering and not being nice to each other. How could you be mad at these faces?

One of the worst things for me is not being able to celebrate this young lady’s 18th birthday properly. In a way, I feel that we have been celebrating in small scales ever since she got back. I will miss the hugs and the tenderness. I will miss her screaming like a crazy fangirl everytime she sees an update or a teaser of her current favourite K-Pop band. I will miss her singing Koren pop songs in the house, in the car, at the mall. Shameless, really. She even breaks into a dance every now and then. I love you, Eibee!

I hope this young man managed to get enough rest during this vacation. He always stays up way past decent bedtime so he sleeps through most of the day and gets up feeling even more tired. I can’t really nag too much because I just love having him back here, tucked in his bottom bunk, sleeping like a log. Or screaming at the laptop screen while playing League of Legends, a game which I can never understand. He still aces Guitar Hero at Magic Planet. And he still loves Nutella. Forever and ever. I love you, Joseph!

I’m going away now, before I start crying.