Setting Sail

Wow, it has been a while! But now I'm back, and after hectic 3 months trying to get everything organized, I am finally starting to feel more relaxed and ready to take photos and write about my life. Again.

But organized for what? Well, that is one of the "big" changes I was hinting about on my previous post. I am leaving Norway, in about two month's time, to return home to the Philippines and re-settle.

The tumultuous vacation I had there last year made me reflect on my life and the life of the people I care about and it made me decide on some big changes. For one, I want to be near my family, especially my sister, who at the moment is fighting the biggest battle of her life: the war against cancer.

It was a bitter moment when my father passed away while I was still here in Norway. I had not gone home for about 6 years. I had not seen my father and we rarely spoke. I was living my life here in Norway and was not really thinking about how my family was doing back in the Philippines. And then it happened, with no time for apologies, not even a proper goodbye.

I don't want to take chances anymore and I want to be there for my family and for my sister, and help carry the load of this family crisis. Sometimes in life we are forced to make a decision as to what is more important, money or family. I choose family. And even though I am scared as to how my life in the Philippines will be, fifteen years after leaving for Norway, I know everything will be alright, as long as the family is intact.

So I have been busy preparing for the journey back home. I feel happy and sad at the same time. I do not know how long before I can get the chance to come back to Norway, if at all. So I have to, more than ever, be even more industrious with my photography, and capture the sights and the moments from this country which I will be taking back with me to the Philippines.

And fortunately the long and harsh winter is slowly but surely retreating. It's still ridiculously cold at the moment but we are definitely getting signs that spring will soon be here. Warmer weather, more hours of sunshine, and more opportunities to take photos.