We would’ve wanted to spend the entire Holy Week in San Antonio since we haven’t been home since December last year. However, Mommy Khris’ office kept changing their report for work schedule until it was moved two weeks earlier than the initial plan.

Still, we had a great time in San Antonio. During one instance when Mommy Khris and I were eating dinner, we remarked how we looked forward to spending weekends in the province before the COVID-19 pandemic. It was always an amazing opportunity to recharge and catch up on stories with my parents.

Nowadays, since we have two toddlers, everything’s about making sure that they are comfortable and will have a good time when we go on a vacation.

We brought their favorite snacks (although my parents already have their favorite biscuits and food in stock days before we arrived) as well as their inflatable pool which they used during Sabado de Gloria (Black Saturday). Most Filipinos would traditionally go swimming in pools and beach resorts during Sabado de Gloria so it's a “holiday” that many families waited for.

Miguel and Rafa also like playing in the backyard so we just let them be, picking sticks and stones and everything else that caught their fancy.

As for us, we looked forward to the delicious home cooked meals that my mother prepared at home. We like the delicious fish that they always bought from the local market. We were also dreaming of eating our favorite pork menudo that my mother would always prepare for us and we weren’t disappointed. We even brought some with us when we went back to Quezon City.

We were also always imagining enjoying cups of Puno’s ice cream. I’ve long heard many good things about this local Novo Ecijano ice cream brand but it was only last December 2021 when we were finally able to try it. Puno’s ice cream is really delicious and deserves all the raves it’s getting, well at least in my home province.

It’s creamy and packed with well-balanced flavors. Our most favorite Puno’s ice cream flavor is the Langka Cheese Cashew while the Cheese Cashew Macapuno and the Coffee Crumble both come in at a close second. 

Best of all, Puno’s ice cream is affordable as compared to other commercial ice cream brands. I wish Puno’s ice cream would be available in Metro Manila, too. For now, this is another reason for us to plan for the next vacation in San Antonio.

On another note, here are also some of the things that I’m grateful for in the last two weeks:

We finally got our first family car – a second-hand Toyota Innova 2020 model. Mommy Khris and I deemed it practical to get our first car because that would give us more mobility while ensuring our safety since COVID-19 is still very much out there. 

I'm still learning to drive around the streets of Metro Manila though since I'm only used to driving in the province where the roads are almost always empty.

We went to Pico de Loro in Nasugbu, Batangas for our first family vacation since 2020. Needless to say, the kids couldn’t get enough of the beach.

I’m also grateful for the brands that continue to trust me. I’ve been out of full-time work since August 2021 and my freelance and social media marketing jobs have been providing me with steady monthly income. 

I just concluded campaigns for UCC Coffee, Kurin all-purpose disinfecting spray, Kusinaya gourmet floss, Peri-Peri charcoal chicken, V-Soy soy bean milk drink, Health Fusion Vitamin C gummies, Twinkl Philippines, and Neurogen-E.

That’s it for now, I hope you had a meaningful Holy Week celebration.

For the last three editions of Grateful Dad, you may read the following posts:

For all the past entries, please click here.