It feels like going through a Time Machine

We are currently planning on going back to the Philippines for holiday.  The last time we went was in December 2010 which we were looking forward to but we were not able to maximize our time because my wife was 3 months pregnant at that time so she cannot get around much, and we somehow forgot that life speeds up in a fevered pitch during the Christmas season as it's parties and events left and right in the Philippines, which made it difficult to organize time with friends.

Besides the food and the beaches, I guess the other thing I am looking forward to is seeing my friends again.  It is so weird though that I somehow expected my friends to be the same when I left them in 2008.  Even if I had been able to keep track of the highlights of their lives through social media (I missed three marriages and even more birthday parties), I thought I can just appear from nowhere and then we can plan a mountain trek or a camping expedition for the coming weekend, like the good old days.  But suddenly they now have other priorities, other commitments.  Make no mistake, I am happy for them.  But I can almost hear them say, 'why did you leave anyway?  Then you would not have missed so much'.

But that's life I guess.  It's full of changes, the only constant thing.  And I know, I would almost wish again that time had stopped or even slowed down since the last time I left so we can catch up more quickly when we get back, but this is not to be, and so I resolve not to become too sentimental and to make the best of the summer holiday and get through as much of my bucket list as I can.