Today, March 9, marks the anniversary of the last day my children were out in the world.
On this date last year, it was a Monday. It was the last week of the school year and my kids were excited for school to end. Just 4 more days and it's summer! Piero and I went to fetch his older brothers. I had already heard of the mysterious new disease but I decided we won't wear masks that day. This Covid-19 seemed unreal. And it was such a beautiful day!
This is mommy me! Hair in a ponytail, no makeup, no jewelry. Definitely not glam when I'm on mommy duty haha
With me are Vito and Piero waiting for Inigo to finish his one-hour session with the Chinese tutor. They love waiting because just look at where we are. The boys play with their iPad or run around in the playground or we lounge by the pool. It's really nice there! We miss it.
And we're off! That day, we had a hard time again with getting a Grab. So after 30 minutes of attempted bookings, we walked to Ortigas Ave. to try and hail a taxi. What we usually do is go to the gasoline station near the boys' school. There's a nice cafe and pizza place there. I leave the boys there with pizza or chips and they do their homework while I go out and wait by the highway to get a taxi. I'll forever be grateful to the staff of that gasoline station for watching over the kids.
Eventually, I was able to book a Grab and so I went back to the kids and had merienda with them. Then our car arrived, the kids chattered away, and we were home. As I type this, it's 5:30 PM. That's exactly the time we get home from school.
That's how our regular normal weekdays are. We just didn't realize that that would be the last one. That night, the schools canceled the rest of the week's remaining days. The kids didn't even get to say good-bye to their friends. But we thought, "That's okay, they'll see each other again in June." What did we know.
I don't want to be sad because one year in lockdown later, we are all still alive. And healthy. We never even got the sniffles - the first year in maybe a decade no one in the family got sick. And I tell myself I have to count my blessings every day so I don't take this for granted.
But oh how I'm ready for that normal life once more.
Covid-19 cases are on the rise again. I see many people on social media having parties, lunches, weddings, and reunions. This pandemic is never going to end if we don't follow the safety protocols. Please stay home, everyone. Stay safe.
We're on the same page Frances. If there's one thing I consider to be positive out of this situation, it's the fact that I am now able to catch up on rest and sleep and my body gets the respite it deserves from all the years of travelling and commuting to work (and inhaling polluted Manila air!). At yun na nga, kahit one year na nasa bahay, at least my mom and I never got sick. That alone is already a blessing.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you and your mom are healthy! We're so lucky. So many people I know have gotten sick, kaya hindi talaga kami lumalabas ng bahay (except for medical reasons and for essential errands). Stay healthy and safe, Glaiza!!!
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