The Christmas that Ninang turned into a werewolf

aka...the best Christmas ever.

(jacket synopsis). One not so particular twenty-fifth of December something magical happened to our family. 

My Ninang came to realize, a few days before her birthday, that apparently if you are born on Christmas, you may become a werewolf. She found this out by reading a tweet, of course. Everyone knows that accurate information reveals itself in the matter of micro-blogging. On the day before her 36th birthday she found herself conducting a web search for information about this myth.  

The Christmas that Ninang turned into a werewolf (aka...the best Christmas ever) by Nadia Oribio

It was a sunny Christmas Eve in Honolulu. My Ninang, that is Aunt in Tagalog, woke up and boiled spaghetti noodles, eggs and potatoes for our Christmas lunch Tomorrow. 

What is she cooking?

She is making a potato and (spaghetti noodle) macaroni salad.

She drank a cup of coffee (maybe two or three) and read a book. By four in the afternoon she had yet to decide if she was attending Midnight Mass or not.

She heard a Samba song and decided that dancing would help her decide if she wanted to attend Mass. Did I tell you my Ninang was a bit crazy? That is what my Mom says, but my Mom leaves out the "bit" part.

The calendar changed from the twenty-fourth to the twenty-fifth. Yay! It is Christmas Day!

Ninang did not turn into a werewolf when Lola (that is grandmother in Tagalog) said, "that is a new way of making potato salad."

She did not turn into a werewolf when the Russian tea cookie she was eating fell onto her chest and mixed in with the chest rub she had on.

She turned into a werewolf when she went outside to work on her tan that afternoon of her thirty-sixth birthday. 

When she came back into the house she grew to eleven feet tall and was covered with fur. 

My Ninang always wanted to be tall, so she saw this as a good thing.

She thinks she became a werewolf that Christmas because it was also a full moon.

It is cool to have a Ninang who is a werewolf.

Before she was scared to hike because of the many trail accidents. Now she hikes with the best of them. 

She likes to drive with the top of her convertible down. Feeling the Honolulu breeze on her furry face.

She is friends with the butcher, at the grocery store, who cuts "grade A" meat.

She made peace with the vampires in our neighborhood.

I like to go bike riding with my Ninang and cling to her as we bike down the hills of ʻAiea.

I like to go surfing with her, too. We surf together on full moon nights. The sharks smile and the werewolves howl when we ride a wave.

My Ninang and I practice yoga together. My cat Mo joins us when we lie on our mats.

It was the best Christmas ever because our family was together. Even though she made the macaroni salad with low fat mayonnaise, Ninang did not ruin Christmas.

This is where Ninang's book editor said it wasn't Christmas-y enough...

The full moon after Christmas my Ninang always helps out our neighbors who leave their Christmas lights up longer than necessary.

When the trash piles up from Holiday gift giving she tears up all the excess trash into teeny tiny bits.

My Ninang travels to snowy places and helps the snowplows. She likes to roll around in the snow.

One time Ninang got stuck in Christmas lights and I had to help untangle her. 

Once Ninang got to help Santa pull his sleigh.

Once werewolf Ninang got to play a sheep in a Nativity play.

Is that enough Mele Kalikimaka for you, editor? 

Lil Wolfs Time Practices Her Howls

Before her fourth wolfs time, Aunt Alien decided to practice howling with lil wolf. Aunt Alien sat on the couch and howled. It was a low howl, decent for a non-wolf. Her niece responded with a howl of her own. 

Aunt Alien and Mommy Vampire looked at each other and laughed. Aunt knew that lil wolf was advanced for her age. Everyday the young wolf did something extraordinary. Today was no exception. It was a great howl!

"Good Job lil wolf", said Aunt Alien. 
"That was wonderful, wolfiecakes", said her Mom.

Lil wolf was very happy. She could not wait to test her howling tomorrow night during wolfs time. She wanted to showoff her howls to her dad, uncle, grandparents and cousins. They will be so proud of her. What a great night tomorrow will be she thought. 

Lil Wolfs time

The night before her fourth wolfs time. 

Though I suppose you can consider this her third. I don't think the first one counted since she was only a week old. But, a wolf she is and this is to be her fourth. The littlest wolf was dreaming of what was in-store for morrows eve. She is too young to hunt. Too little to run with the pack. She doesn't have much fur on her body. Her wolf prints are a US size 2. She likes to lie on her back and coo. Baby wolf is smart and strong. She will grow up to be brave and powerful.  

Tomorrow as the twilight hour sets in, listen for the howl of the littlest wolf I know.