sometimes, you can really say a person's age by what she asks a balikbayan to bring home.

when i was all of five years old, before my ninong migrated to the US, i solemnly told him to send home two things: snow and clouds. and where would i put it, he asked me. in one of those bags where they put fish when you buy it in the palengke, i answered back. i also told him to wait until the airplane was at its highest peak before opening the window to catch me some cummulus clouds, using of course the same type of supot.

when i grew older, balikbayans meant toys, and toys, at one point, meant for me those dolls that can talk. "make sure she can say bad words, ok?" i told my dad once.

after i got into educ and everything related to teaching was really exciting, i'd order school supplies from the US. and then when i started working for ua&p, i'd "shop" online and leave detailed instructions regarding what pair of shoes to buy or the exact bag i wanted. i'd make wishlists from luxe shops like coach to retail stores like target and send them to my mom AND dad to make sure that if and when they decide to get me something, they'd know exactly what my heart desires.

yesterday, i met up with my balikbayan aunt and guess what my bag contained. shoes (there will always be a pair of shoes no doubt about it) and a whole lot of make-up.

who knew that one day i'd morph into this person who'd actually enjoy receiving make-up.

(and who knew too that my cousin and i, who'd had a major spat since her 18th birthday more than ten years ago, would get to bond over face powder and blush and lipgloss and have actually made plans, for the first time in years, to have lunch soon.)