inklingfair I’m indoors with the children in the middle of tropical storm Paeng (Nalgae). Here in Metro Manila it’s just hours and hours of nonstop rain, but there’s been heavy flooding in Cotabato and Negros and deadly landslides in Maguindanao. In a chat group someone said that some fishermen in Bacolod were missing. It’s easy, especially with the past few months of political goings-on, to just shrug and throw up our hands, but that’s not what we’ve been working hard for years for. We ants go marching anyway, one by one or three by three, what matters is we march together.
The first one in the immediate family to get COVID was Amy, in September, fresh out of her first week of classes. She had fever and nausea for two days, and isolated with (an extremely patient) Josh for almost two weeks. I missed the entire last few days of the AV festival because of the quarantine, but at least no one else got sick.
Over the past couple of weeks, with the festival, some friends going through family crises, work stress and general panic of entering the last quarter of the year, I realized I had to step back and refocus on rebuilding relationships with people around me. I had been so engrossed in the march that I hadn’t stopped to wait and make space and time for the “little ones” to do their thing. So I was glad to man the “tita corner” for the Balik-Bayan DAKILA anniversary and take time to talk with Evert and Billy, Steph, Khaye, Mich, and circulate — which I normally wouldn’t do — and stay until two in the morning.
The next day, despite a slight hangover, I went with Josh and Amy to the Treveia trick or treat and tailed Snow White Andi and Amy with her pink fairy wings until we could walk no more and had to summon Josh to pick us up at the curb of Lagoon Street. While Amy and Andi bounded up the stairs to play with toy slime, Josh and I used up the last of the daylight to bike to Camp N and back. We chatted with Auntie Nelly, Uncle Yo and Pao (James was away) at the dinner table, and brought tacos to Adu and Shine manning their milk tea booth. By the time we got home I was so worn out Josh all but carried me all the way to the front door.
All in all, I think it was worth the time and tiredness. It’s the last weekend before all the remaining weekends are taken by community/family activities: convivences, scrutiny, Advent, visiting relatives and friends. I’m glad to stop and tie my shoe.
