Happy birthday, Br. Jomar!

Today's the birthday of an important confrere, and uhum, one of the reasons why this blog continues to thrive.

Folks, let's hear it for Br. Jomar!

If you’ve been reading my blog, you must have encountered his name once on a while since he’s been one of the staple fixture here. I cannot help it; he’s part of the community I am in. Okay. No, it’s not that I don’t have any choice, but the fact that I am setting aside some other more important topics in lieu of writing something about him is very telling: I appreciate him.

For one, I have been generous in affirming, ad infinitum, his creative prowess. I swear, every nook and cranny of the house he puts his hands on to decorate becomes spectacularly beautiful.

Case in point, check our advent wreathe this year:

Mang Imo, our all-around utility man, made it using home grown materials (we have a bamboo plantation by our backyard!) and with all the addenda Joms whipped, He made it more beautiful!

I've known him since when he was in high school. Somehow, I'd like to believe that I belong to the guilty party of persuading him to give the seminary life a try. Guess what? He did!

And the rest is history.

He's a man who wears several hats...literally and figuratively. He’s the accountant of the community (he does all the auditing of the expenses and all!), a technical man (checking our water tank from the rising of the sun to its setting!), the instrumentalist of the community (he plays a number of musical instruments!) and a total factotum for Fr. Joe (Alright, I really don’t know what this means!).

What's with the incredulous face? Here's a proof:

The title of the song escapes my mind. But it's his personal composition.

I particularly appreciate his presence and support in those burdensome SignBearer days when I was in need of a helping hand, and he gladly extended his. Figuratively. This was especially true when I was overly discouraged to continue the work, but his significant contributions and his wanting to push trough with our first issue definitely gave me the necessary impetus to go through the motions.

As of this writing, we’re done with our first issue! Yipee!

But more than anything else, I thank him for letting me in to some private matters that concern him. Sharing with me his concerns, matters that dumb him, and even individuals who make him uneasy and other stuff which reveal how vulnerable he is. I have experienced this with some friends, but it’s always different when a confrere gestures this.

It’s like putting a concrete form to the otherwise vague expression “journeying with each other.”

Happy birthday, Joms!