What do you miss?

    A lot has changed since last year. Since Covid-19 changed our lives. I miss a lot of things, a lot of things that I normally do, and places that I normally visit. 

    Before the pandemic, I frequently visit Manila (I live in the South). Manila, was only 30 minutes away from Laguna in 2015, and became two hours of travel time by 2019. I miss that. I miss riding the bus and sleeping away the hours of travelling on the bus. I miss the traffic and the worry of not making it to my scheduled appointment.  I haven't been to Manila since last year, due to lockdowns and fear of the virus. I have not been to Divisoria for more than a year now. I miss the place, the sweaty smell of haggling and jumping on a jeepney just to get a ride. 

    I miss going to the mall without any worries of picking up any virus that I bring home. I miss eating out with my family, going to the movies.

       I miss attending church every Sunday with my daughter. I miss going to my Nathaniel after attending church and just playing a song for him. I miss having my daughter in my store. I can't take her anywhere now. She just stays at home. She's bored and misses her friends dearly. 

    These are the things that all of us took for granted. Memories that will just stay as memories. Even if I miss these things, I am still grateful that my family is safe. I thank God everyday for that. 

    I think the most important thing right now is being grateful for every single thing that we have, be it obstacle or a blessing. Have faith, and all of these shall pass.

    

      

Pandemic (Covid-19): Philippines

    Two months from now, isang taon ng naka-lock down ang Pilipinas. Lahat ng klase ng quarantine naranasan na ng mga tao dito. From ECQ, GCQ to MGCQ. But have anything changed? A lot. Marami. 

      We learned to be aware of what we touch. We learned how to wash our hands properly. We learned to be more loving sa mga tao sa paligid, specially our family. We learned to love more, we learned to value each other more. We now know how difficult it is to be on the medical industry. On how vunerable they are. We now appreciate our teachers more, how hard it is to teach and disciplined 50 or more so students day by day. We learned the value of money, on how hard it is for us to earn them and on how fast they can be spent.

    We also sow hate towards each other. Our government seems to be okay with the fake news being shared to social media. We learned how our government seem to be bias towards the ordinary Filipino to someone who has the power and money. We now realize how many Pinoys are silent in reacting to government corruption. The Filipinos are not "healing as one", but are falling apart one by one. 

    I am now counting the days when the ordinary Filipino can get hold of the vaccine. To bring some normality to our daily life. To breathe without the mask and the worries. To have children play at the streets again without their parents worrying not just about the viruses but also of the barangay patrol (to check on them whether the protocol is being followed or not).  To have me sneeze and cough without the prejudice eyes of others. To have the Filipino go have their medical check-up and not be branded being positive of the Covid virus. 

    Normality is far-fetched. Things are not going back to normal. But we must now prepare for a larger, more dangerous kind of pandemic.