Jeepney Press / Neriza Saito

Neriza Sarmiento - Saito's On the Road to

STARTING THE YEAR ON A HAPPY NOTE

“Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means that you’ve decided to look at the imperfections.“ - Gerard Way

Photo by Neriza Saito

A very Happy New Year to our readers of JP! People all over the world welcomed 2022, the year of the white tiger with a spectacular display of reworks around the world like along the Copacabana Beach in Brazil, Sydney Harbor in Australia, Dubai in the UAE and Bonifacio Global City in the Philippines with people blowing toy horns or torotot!!

Regardless of race, color or religion, people have a universal wish at the start of the year - “Happiness“ which can come in the form of a promotion at work, affection from one’s family or simply appreciating the beauty of nature.

Photo by Neriza Saito

In my annual New Year message on FM Cocolo, I mentioned that in our younger days my parents made sure that we hung 12 grapes by the window, a tradition that we probably inherited from Spain, and we always had noodles for longevity - pancit guisado, bihon or spaghetti on our Noche Buena table along with embutido, relyenong bangus, kaldereta, leche flan and fruit salad. Looking back at those times, it was not only the abundance of food but it was more of the family togetherness that made those moments memorable.

photo by Neriza Saito

Even if those days are long gone, I tried as much as I could to have my children experience some Philippine traditions in the New Year while living in Japan. In the big jubako that my husband bought, I had one layer of it lled with Philippine dishes like adobo, lumpia or menudo. And the other two layers with the usual osechi dishes.

More than 30 years after that, my old jubako needed to be replaced with a new one, so for this year, I chose a smaller silver and gold jubako, enough for a few dishes. My eldest son ordered osechi to save me the trouble of lavish preparations. So on New Year’s Day, we gathered for the traditional New Year family event with ozoni and only a few family favorites like oysters and egg roll that my son cooked. Those were enough to have a good start of the year.

Last year, I featured 2 babies born during the pandemic year. And here they are once more, robust and ferocious and I have to admit that their energy is so contagious. Now, I believe why psychologists say that holding a baby or looking at their pictures can elicit the release of oxytocin which interacts with our dopamine release system.

That’s why I’m sharing with you these things that make me happy. That in spite of the uncertainties brought about by the pandemic and endemic, we can nd ways to live with it and prioritize what’s more valuable in our life.

Photo by Neriza Saito

Neriza Saito

Jeepney Press