August 29, 2006
For the longest time (not counting my dorm days), I've been sharing a bed with my brother. It's a double-size bed that probably 20+ years old which used to belong to my parents.
Don't get me wrong; we don't do it out of "brotherly love" (yuck) or anything like that. We all sleep together at night in the master's bedroom: my parents, my older brother Jerome, and me. It's basically two to a bed. That's been the arrangement at our home ever since we discovered the energy-saving benefits of using just a single large bedroom with an airconditioner running. My brother and I have an actual room of our own but the last time we slept in it was when I was seven years old (if I recall correctly). My two sisters had their own room which was similarly "abandoned" (my eldest sister Vanny moved out this year).
But since my sister Tricia moved back into the house (she used to stay in an apartment near the Internet café she runs), the family bedroom became a little bit more cramped. Because there was no extra bed in the room, she had to squeeze into my parents' bed. Now, a month later, my parents decided that we should move out. My brother and I moved to our sisters' old bedroom which already had two single beds. My sister took the double bed with her and settled into my old room. There are aircons now in both rooms but we don't use them to save on electricity.
To be honest, I'm having difficulty adjusting. For one thing, there's no television in our room. And I'm used to sleeping with the aircon on. But I really miss being in one room together with my family. I don't miss sleeping uncomfortably and having to jostle for the remote control. I simply miss being in each other's company, even if we don't talk to each other a lot. Our family doesn't have many problems, but admittedly, we're not very close to one another. Even if it is a little bit forced, it'll be hard to replace the quality time we spend together every night.
I'm going to miss my dad's incredibly loud snoring. I'm going to miss watching my mom do her novenas before going to bed. I'm going to miss those moments when we all decide to watch a movie on HBO or a golf tournament past midnight.
I feel like a part of myself has already been lost.
Don't get me wrong; we don't do it out of "brotherly love" (yuck) or anything like that. We all sleep together at night in the master's bedroom: my parents, my older brother Jerome, and me. It's basically two to a bed. That's been the arrangement at our home ever since we discovered the energy-saving benefits of using just a single large bedroom with an airconditioner running. My brother and I have an actual room of our own but the last time we slept in it was when I was seven years old (if I recall correctly). My two sisters had their own room which was similarly "abandoned" (my eldest sister Vanny moved out this year).
But since my sister Tricia moved back into the house (she used to stay in an apartment near the Internet café she runs), the family bedroom became a little bit more cramped. Because there was no extra bed in the room, she had to squeeze into my parents' bed. Now, a month later, my parents decided that we should move out. My brother and I moved to our sisters' old bedroom which already had two single beds. My sister took the double bed with her and settled into my old room. There are aircons now in both rooms but we don't use them to save on electricity.
To be honest, I'm having difficulty adjusting. For one thing, there's no television in our room. And I'm used to sleeping with the aircon on. But I really miss being in one room together with my family. I don't miss sleeping uncomfortably and having to jostle for the remote control. I simply miss being in each other's company, even if we don't talk to each other a lot. Our family doesn't have many problems, but admittedly, we're not very close to one another. Even if it is a little bit forced, it'll be hard to replace the quality time we spend together every night.
I'm going to miss my dad's incredibly loud snoring. I'm going to miss watching my mom do her novenas before going to bed. I'm going to miss those moments when we all decide to watch a movie on HBO or a golf tournament past midnight.
I feel like a part of myself has already been lost.
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