I know. I know. Title says, "Most Treasured", but why is one photo damaged? Well, I'll explain that later.

Hello, Asean Hivers! Straykat here once again after a long deep sleep. I've been longing to return and write a lot of things about what has happened in the past months. I've seen some interesting contests here on the community though as much as I wanted to write an entry, I still can't convince myself to write. I can't believe the year is about to end in less than three months. These past months went by in a flash even though these were the most heartbreaking parts of my life.

One reason I am tapping letters on my keyboard again was this interesting contest topic by ASEAN Hive Community. I'm all about reminisicing the past ever since my mother got sick and more so when she passed away which is why I thought this contest was perfect and timely for me.

Early this year, my mama saw me scanning through some of our old photos in my laptop. She sat next to me while we talked about each photo. I didn't know it would be the last time we would be reminiscing on our photos. :( I know this is not the right post to write about it so before I get more dramatic let's just proceed with the photos.

Behold, Straykat's favorite childhood photos X decades ago. Wait..wait..wait.. is this a lowkey face reveal? ha ha.

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🤍🤍🤍 My Most Favorite Photo 🤍🤍🤍

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☆ "Let's Go to Jollibee!!!" ☆

_{..to the moon roadtrip broom broom skrrr skrrr 🎶😂}

Jollibee has been part of my chilhood just like many Filipino kids. There's a Jollibee store near home and my school day wouldn't be complete without going for a drive-thru to get a Kiddie Meal with either spaghetti or cheesy yumburger! Jollibee's signage was visible from the bridge on our way home and seeing it would remind me to tell my mama that we pass by Jollibee first before going home. I usually tell her before we reach the intersection because the Jollibee store is on the opposite side of the road.

One time, I think they didn't hear me and my brother who was behind the steering wheel was already turning the car to the right. I stood and from the backseat I leaned forward to reach for the steering wheel holding it still so he can't turn the car. Lol. So this photo of me sitting on the driver's seat always reminds me and every one in our family about that story. This is why mama never fails to laugh every time she sees this photo. I remember she took this photo while we were waiting for my brother to drive me to school.

Aside from that story, this also reminds me with a couple of things which makes me smile when I see it. I was in Preparatory on this photo and this was the usual style my mama would tie my hair. Twintails. And the bangs was totally a banger. I love it even though it makes my forehead sweat quicker. I also have my handkerchief pinned on my right chest for accessibility but more for the reason of not misplacing it. And of course, our very reliable car. The key for my afternoon Jollibee drive-thru! Bet my brother would still drive it if only our father didn't sell it.

I really love the way I smiled on this photo. It was genuine happiness being able to sit at the driver's seat and hold the steering wheel like I was the real driver. I could've driven it if only my feet can reach the pedals! Just look at that smile. It looks like I was up to something.. like taking the car to Jollibee. Lol. My face on this photo also reminds me of an anime character..

_{Source: Giphy}

And to answer the question at the beginning of this post, the photo was damaged because I stored my photo album outside, particularly in our unused washing machine. It was kept there for a long time and this was what happened to some of the photos when I retrieved it. I was planning on having it restored early this year, even told my mama about it while we were looking at the photos. But we weren't able to have it done due to the high number of covid cases back then.

☆ The Perfect Captain Komamura Cosplay Does Not Ex... ☆

🤣🤣🤣

This photo never fails to make me laugh because what was I doing?! I covered my head with a basket while holding a teflon tape. I know and admit that I love messing with my mama's stuffs when I was little. We have a couple of this teflon tape before and it amuses me a lot. It's different from the regular tapes. There are no smartphones back then so this was how I spent most of my afternoons before. I just play around the house and check on whatever things I can find.

I was maybe three years old when this was taken, years before Tite Kubo began Bleach. It was only early this year when I realized that I was kind of like cosplaying Captain Komamura. The thought of it made me see this photo with more laughter.

_{Captain Komamura low cost cosplay, everyone! LOL!}

☆ A Photo with Mama and Papa ☆

_{Oh how I miss our tidy home as well!}

This is sad, but I didn't have much photos together with my parents. We didn't even have a complete family photo. I love and treasure this photo because this was taken before we attended the Recognition Day and my parents were wearing matched outfits. My sister was also on the photo. I was in first grade and it was my first Recognition Day. I think I was really happy on this photo because I was doing a peace sign. I also love that they styled my hair into twin buns and those hair clips were one of my favorites because it made me feel like I was Chun-Li from Street Fighter. I think I still have those clips with me today.

Looking at my childhood photos always remind me of how good my past was. I wish there's a way we can go back and stay in it. To live the good old times and be with the people we miss so mucch. But we can only relive it through memories and stories. Thank goodness camera exists, even if the photos we can capture back then was limited. Kids are very lucky today because even taking videos has become very easy.

I am currently organizing and doing some little improvements in my room and included on my to-do list was to collect all our printed photos and keep them on photo albums because I just realized how important and irreplaceable they are. Since my mama's passing, I've decided that I will take good care of our photos.

My childhood photos were a collection of memories of me having a happy family which I will truly miss. :)

Thanks for dropping by on my post! Have a nice day! ♡