My plan to hitch a ride and my unplanned vacation I got instead

It was one of those days when I could just feel the stress both from work and home. During those times I was still teaching kids at an orphanage located within the subdivision near where I live. The said shelter is managed by the religious who have been branched out in different location here in the Philippines.

Dealing with kids can be stressful at times. I must admit that although they did make me happy even with their hugs and smiles, the pains brought by their life outside the orphanage plus my own recent experience (my mom died of cancer that year), things were beginning to strangle me. I needed a vacation. I wasn’t expecting thought that I’d get a treat.

So there I was one early morn on my way to Manila. I hitched a ride with the sisters who were also bound to Tagaytay to attend a profession (one of the novices was to accept Christ as her husband—she was to be a nun). The plan was for me to be dropped off to my uncle’s place in Manila but what happened somehow took me off guard—and totally unprepared for (although not a single moment was dull).

We arrived at Cavite at around 5pm, where one of their schools and convent was located. We were to pick up a “few stuff” before heading to Tagaytay. Plan for me has changed and I was to stay overnight with them there ‘till the next morning where they plan to drop me off. So off we go, with the so called “few stuff”, to Tagaytay where I met, for the first time, Sr. Juliet (who at that time was at her last night as novice Juliet).

The place where we stayed in Tagaytay is actually a retreat house. It was also a place where the sisters housed and where they celebrate professions. I and the social worker slept on the room next to the kitchen. Even with that night’s bustling and hassles we slept pretty soundly not knowing when they stopped being busy.

We woke to a grand surprise of grand view. Since we were sleeping next to the kitchen the dining area was just a few steps and man was it perfect. The dining (reception) area was huge just like that of a restaurant. But what made it amazing was the glass windows that allowed us to see the whole view of the Taal Lake. The sun shone brightly inside and the breeze was perfectly cold that I was completely snuggled in my sweater.

The profession took place in the chapel within the building. It was simple yet the artistry of its colored glasses was grand. Only little light came yet the lights made things looking more natural. It was a great profession that made me thought marrying was not an option anymore. After the ceremony we had a chance to tour the whole retreat house and take some pictures of the view we were feasting our eyes with. Excellent!

La Vallette Retreat house is a great place to stay whenever in Tagaytay—peaceful and serene. This is one place that people would look forward to staying once they get a chance to take a rest from the city life. And as for me and my stay—well I never got to my uncle’s place. The next were history as I just tagged along with the sisters as we enjoyed Tagaytay.