March 7, 2010
“Ohana means family is never left behind nor forgotten.” – from the movie Lilo and Stitch
“Aren’t you going to the Family Day?” Sir Ken, Sir Sam, and Sir Tats asked me after I found out from them that the Southville International School and Colleges Sports Fest and Family Day will be next week.
If you are in Southville, Sports Fest and Family Day is one of the much-awaited events. You belong to Stars, Hearts or Laurels Team (I was once in the Hearts Team). Then you get to play with colleagues from Basic Education to College – basketball, volleyball, bowling, and yes, even obstacle relay. It’s for fun, friendship, and play.
For others, it’s the time to shed pounds and get to know co-employees and their families. For HRMD, it’s a three-month battle with going home more late, more papers on the table (you have to monitor all the games, thus leaving all seemingly urgent documents), and dealing with big (sometimes bigger) and small concerns of the players.
“I can’t attend that. I don’t have any family there anymore,” I said.
It’s not that I do not want to come. It’s just that after resigning, I really do not belong to any team or family – Stars, Hearts, Laurels, not even in Southville as a whole. Not anymore.
On the other hand, it hit me: I’m totally unprepared for missing the event for the first time since 2005. Geesh.
But just days after, the HRMD, through Ms. Jen, asked me if I could help them out. “We’ll just share your attendance points with one another,” she jokingly said through SMS. Nurse Jess also said that the Medical Department will also “adopt” me if just in case I wanted to come.
It somehow felt good. I am still welcome. I am not left behind nor forgotten. They still consider me a part of their family; I still belong to their ohana. And so I resigned myself to coming.
Sunday came. I started to walk fast upon entering the familiar gate of SISC. I was running late for my first task of the day: to prep the teams as they parade towards Monarchs Gym. This has been my assignment before, so it’s a breeze, right?
Wrong. I was crazy nervous. What will others say and think of me if they see me? I held my breath as I entered the Luxembourg Gym, still running.
When I reached the stage and got the microphone, I suddenly felt time warped. The words just came out of my mouth.
“Good morning, Southville! I’m sorry I’m late for my first task of the day. I am here because Southville was and will always be my family. Let’s check attendance, shall we?”
What I saw were surprised reactions. Few others couldn’t believe I was there in the stage. But there were smile on their faces.
The whole morning, I got nothing but the usual sincere smile from each person I got to meet and chat. Their smiles went down one notch, though, upon learning that I was “only here for the day”, but still, they were happy to see me and to know that I’m fine.
I also got the most number of hugs in my life that day. The hugs were so tight; I think it will be enough to sustain me in the next few months to come, especially now that my last Professional Education subject will be wrapping up in a few weeks (it is the only reason why I still come back at least every week since I left).
I never got to sign up to the attendance, nor got a drink stub. I came with no team to join in; I came as someone from the neutral ground. I did the same tasks as before; I got tired. I witnessed the HRMD Team won raffle gifts (they never won before; they blamed it on my supposed “cursed mark” theory) and my former team emerged as overall champions for the first time in many years (okay, I’m starting to believe on my supposedly “cursed mark”).
I may have been “adopted” by two departments (thanks, guys), but I felt belonged just like old times. I was never left behind nor forgotten.
Southville was and will always be ohana.
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