Road trips have always been one of my family’s favorite ways to unwind and escape the busyness of everyday life. My mom, especially, has always loved spontaneous drives and discovering new places. Over the years, celebrating the New Year together as a family has become one of our most treasured traditions, and every year, we make it a point to welcome another chapter side by side. This year, however, our celebration unfolded in a way none of us could have predicted. For months, my mom had been talking about visiting Albay, but it always remained just a plan—one of those trips we’d “hopefully” take someday. Little did we know that…