COMIING HOME TO NATIVE LAND

Mitchel who has been away from her country for sometime wants to visit home. Planning the trip to go back home , the place where she spent her childhood. Wanting to go back to see if there are changes of what has been. On her trip she was driven by her son Bongbong to the International Airport, Toronto, Canada. three hours before the flight. It is that early counting how many passengers will be checking in. The lady at the counter checks her baggage. It is overweight. She pointed to her to go to the last counter to pay the overweight surcharge. Do you have an extra bag to reduce the weight of this baggage?" "No, I don't have ," she paid the fee to the lady. She filled up the baggage thinking how much clothing does she need for two months vacation she plans to stay with her relatives. After checking in she walks to the passengers waiting area. Looking around, passengers seem to be prepared for the trip with neck pillows , water bottles and carry on bags particularly the ladies bags. Men don't have that kind during their trip. Only backpacks deposited inside the plane compartment above their seats. Soon the intercom announced the passengers line up and get ready with their passports to be stamped and their boarding passes at check in counter before boarding the plane. It's Mitchel's turn at the counter. Her passport is stamped and her boarding pass has been checked. She likes her seat assignment beside the window. She has a very special reason to sit there. Walking slowly, following her fellow passengers she has to be alert and be aware of floor slats that may cause her to slide, slip or stumble considering her age of maturity , the remaining stage of a senior's life. She finds it all the same at some point except her age not asking someone to accompany her to go on vacation. She knows how expensive is the plane ticket. She reaches her designated seat. The flight attendant took her carry on suitcase lifting it above putting and pushing it inside the compartment. She takes her seat to the right hand end and comfortably places her bag under the passenger's seat in front of her. She can put her legs beside or put the bags between when she wants to change her body position to move from time to time. The pilot announced that the plane is ready for takeoff, everyone has to fasten their seatbelts. The plane engine is roaring preparing for take off. The plane is driven first to the take off road before its flight to be safe then the gears are changed to start the flight. Up and up the plane accelerated its speed to reach higher and higher altitude until it is flying flatly in the skies. reaching up to 3,000 feet high. How wonderful to ride an airplane seemingly a dream to experience although others are in fright high up there. people with claustrophobia. Mitchel is excited every time she rides on a plane. No dizziness, headaches or nausea at all. No sign of discomfort, it is like the natural atmosphere no interference to her body condition. Mitchel doesn't like to sleep right away. She puts the headphone choosing the movie she wanted to watch. She doesn't like to watch sex and violent movies. These kind of movies influence the mind and the human body unconsciously reacts to what the physical senses see and feel. She wants to see a movie that can make her mind calm. A comedy is fine, for her it is entertaining. They say if good things are imprinted in the mind it stays there as a recorded event. Later on, what has been watched is reviewed and the watcher reminisce the best part of it and the smile, laughter on her face is reflected even if she is alone, she express herself while watching. Mitchel looks around, most of the passengers are already sleeping. She takes her provided plane soft flannel blanket and covered herself. The movie she has watched is a children's animated story. She is astonished about these children's movies which is mostly talking animals children can not distinguish real and artificial , they are entertained being children not having much knowledge and understanding to what they are watching. Watching actions and colors stir their minds. Mitchel is engrossed to this kind of movies bringing back memories of her childhood. Childhood years has the joys in life. Life is nice when it is all play. During her childhood playthings are not the same as of today. Marbles is a priced piece of toy to play with playmates A circle is drawn and all marbles are place at the middle of the circle. The marble is a bet and each player will strike to hit the marbles, if the marble goes out from the circle, the player wins picking how many marbles went out of the circle. At play store the money used are plant leaves. Can you imagine that? Nowadays children play printed paper money as if they are real. Children can learn how to add and count them. There are no playgrounds before where children go and play. They play hide and seek under, around and climb trees to hide. They are more active and mobile compared to video games they are playing today. Mitchell as a child is full of activity which is work and play. It made her think to see work as play when she plays and feeds her pets, chicken, ducks cat and dog. At her age now all that is past. This flight takes seventeen hours in the air to reach its destination. No stopover, a choice for Mitchel avoiding long layovers walking through long walkways and climbing up and down escalators. She has a phobia riding on escalators ,she prefers elevators. On this trip she's not using an elevator or escalator which is good for her. It maybe hard to sit that long for her , she has to endure this sitting position, her legs are limited to move on this small cramped space but never mind it is just this trip to happen. Up in the air the plane is passing the international dateline. The night time is changed to daytime. Here is what Mitchel likes very much when riding on an airplane. Pushing up the plane window she can see the wings gliding sideways while flying maneuvering above and below the clouds. How wonderful to be looking at the clouds directly not looking up at them on the ground! Riding on a plane is impossible in the past, only it became a vision and a dream to those who invented it. Dreamt to travel faster reaching countries located in the different parts of the world in this present age. How fast can one reach thousand of miles in an hour no hassles, no worries when the skies are sunny and clear Cloudy days may have some risks when travelling, few accidents happened though. Sometimes accidents also happen while landing, few occurs ,high safety standards are in place nowadays. Outside Mitchell sees the bright sun. the rays reaching the planes location vividly hitting the steel parts and make light sparks on it. While cotton clouds floats higher there are clouds to envelope the plane in a moment moving forward to reach its destination. There's a beautiful scenery captivating Mitchell when looking down. Planet Earth has been created by God. This is the time the whole scenery appears to the naked eye how beautiful to see the handiwork of God. Mountains, rivers, valleys flat lands which may seem to be painted in different hues there is not enough to describe but praise what God has prepared for man to live. Mount Everest the highest peak on Earth covered with ice caps can be seen from the small window of the plane. Plain open spaces where there is land mass or islands, lines of different colors green orange , colors of red blocks appears to be cliffs and mountain sides, valleys divided by tributaries of water you can only see when riding on a plane. These are wonders of the world to be thankful for from God our Creator. Planet Earth is the only planet with living things of all planets in the solar system. God has His purpose and meaning about His creation. Is it to entertain Him? Why has He created man? Being said, man looks like Him, in His image and likeness to raise a family and become his sons and daughters. This plan has been thwarted by Lucifer who wanted to be like Him. On Planet Earth the first to inhabit is the male and female , Adam and Eve created by God. From a handful of clay He designed Adam taking one of his ribs and breathes air to her nostrils like Adam, that air gave them life having the components of flesh and blood. Up to the present descendants of the first humans is inhabiting the Planet Earth. God endowed a man and woman to reproduce humankind when the sperm of the male is sprayed inside the womb of the woman to fertilize her egg, cell division takes place. For nine months ,it is carried to become a full term ,through painful labor Eve suffer before the baby is born. This is a punishment to Eve giving way to Lucifer by eating the forbidden fruit prohibited by God. Lucifer has deceived the first humans who has limited knowledge at that time. God has not revealed to them His real purpose about their existence. That divine purpose is covered up. God has ordered new commands and new rules to follow numbering ten, still they refuse to follow Him until today although the Power of the Mind coming from God, to think to dream , that dream can be materialize. God allowed man to visualize a concept, to invent using the raw materials on Planet Earth. To create from nothing to something like what He did. Man has the ability and capability to materialize their ideas like the plane where Mitchell is riding, through the discovery of electricity and gravity and many more. These inventions made man more comfortable in their daily living not recognizing these are all the gifts of God until today. God's love to man is eternal and everlasting. If humans can only realize the cover up Lucifer has done living on Earth could be a better place to live Mitchel's main purpose to go back to her native land is to visit her ailing mother. Her mother who has done everything, to make sacrifices now nearing her age to one hundred years living on Planet Earth. Anxious to see the village she has grown up, the families of her brothers and sisters she has left behind. How much have they progress or are they still the same? The rice paddies, banana and coconut plantations providing their livelihood. Is there a change or improvement on how they live now? Are they now using mechanized farming or the manual labor of planting and harvesting? Mitchel strived to make a change on how to live, learning, education is preparation for life at school acquiring professional career in the health care industry serving as a nurse in a foreign country until she retired,. Her brothers and sisters didn't have any ambition to study farther after finishing their secondary school being satisfied to till the soil, to live with nature and enjoy eating freshly picked fruits and vegetables, fresh eggs from their poultry farm, fresh milk from their farm animals. The rigors of planting rice under the scorching heat of the sun may cause illnesses to farmers depending on their endurance when they are young. That is what Mitchel is thinking hoping his brothers are helping each other during planting and harvesting. They plant vegetables by hectares to add to their income selling them in the market. On market day the carabao which is their beast of burden pulls a cart to bring their produce early to the marketplace. Not only the vegetables they are going to sell but also some chickens and eggs they collected from their poultry farm. From their coconut plantation they harvest the matured coconuts . burn them to make copra. Copra is the coconut meat to be manufactured as coconut oil. MItchel imagines if she didn't have the courage to continue her studies she might be doing all these things until now. What she didn't really like is to be tied tilling the soil early till dusk. Can she do something for them this time she going home? Is this vacation enough to fill her longings to her mother to let her know she loves her. She hopes she will meet all her relatives but will they become closer feeling the distance from each other. In comparison what could be healthier to live in the farm and live in the city like Mitchel. She will learn when she arrives home. As the plane is nearing her destination, the pilot descended gradually slowing down to lower altitude until Mitchel can see now the view outside the window plane boats at sea rowed by fishermen, cars driven on roads looking like matchboxes, house rooftops painted with different colors standing on land squares inside a subdivision. Trees lined up the roads and vacant grassy lands spread as far as the eyes can see from the plane's window. The pilot announced to the passengers to fasten their seatbelts preparing the plane for landing. As soon as the plane came into a halt, passengers collected their belongings and proceeded to exit. Mitchel enjoyed the plane ride. Pushing her cart to the airport exit door of the International Airport, Manila , Philippines , waving her small flag to be seen by her relatives meeting her.GP