An eLf for a ring bearer?
Should it not be a hobbit?

The church-wedding ceremony of Tito Renyboy (Vera) and Tita Lucy (Bacay), on January 26, 1980, at Our Lady of Lourdes Church on Kanlaon Street, Quezon City, Philippines: I was the ring bearer (in brown corduroy pants), while my sisters Lovelle and Karen the flower girls.

Tito Renyboy (Renato A. Vera) is the sixth in the brood of seven in which my mother (Teresita) is the fifth. His wife, Tita Lucy (Lucina M. Bacay-Vera), is the eldest in a brood of five. Their happy union gifted them with two sons, Darrel Ivan (now 24) and Davin Isidore (22).

I could very well remember the time, late '70s, when Tito Renyboy was still wooing Tita Lucy. He would sometimes take me and my sister Lovelle along when he visited her at her family's house in Baesa, Novaliches, Quezon City; we would sometimes join her family's outings.

After the wedding, the couple lived at the house, on Cuangco St., in Makati City, where my family was also residing. They moved into their own house in Baesa only sometime in 1988, so living together for many years made them regard me and my siblings as their own children. I'd seen their children, Ivan and Dave, from the day each was born until the day their family immigrated, in 1989, to Manitoba, Canada; so you could imagine us spending lots of memorable childhood times together.

Grandfather and I are currently staying here in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with Tito Renyboy, Tita Lucy, and cousins Ivan and Dave. So, now that you just had a glimpse of our familial beginnings, you will no longer be surprised with my saying I'm more at-home now, living with them here in Manitoba; and that Grandfather and I are in a much better situation.

Living with Tito Renyboy's family gives me a sense of feeling loved and being home, mainly because he and Tita Lucy have remained the same kind, jolly, understanding, supportive, and doting uncle and aunt they used to be when I was a child. Cousins Ivan and Dave, of course, have grown older; but they've not forgotten the childhood days we spent together. They could still look at our childhood pictures together with the same nostalgia and fondness. To them I'm still their Kuya aLfie, who used to be their playmate; and to me they remain my kind cousins, with whom I can spend hours talking without feeling awkward or uncomfortable.