To be honest, the pandemic and its effect did not do much damage in terms of my work. I have been working from home for almost 4 years so being a stay at home mom is nothing new to me. But the major impact was on my lifestyle. When I have tight deadlines and would want a "me time", I would always go to the cafe or milk tea shop. It might seem shallow but those who have been working from home for a long time now would understand how these quick trips keep our sanity intact. To make the matter worst, the quality time with my kids was also affected. I am a mom of two adorable boys ages 10 and 5 years old and before the quarantine period, we spend our weekends going to malls where they spend the afternoon playing and interacting with other kids. Imagine the trouble of explaining to them why everything needs to change and how their frustrations affected me emotionally.

How we spend weekends before the pandemic

Our resiliency is best tested in unexpected happenings and although it's easier said than done, we need to rise to the occasion. The frequent trips to the cafe were transformed into a tea party at home and to be honest, it wasn't too bad. The much-awaited weekend visit to the mall became an everyday cuddle at home while watching movies with my kids and playing and preparing simple dishes for them. No need to wait for weekends because we get to enjoy each other's company every day! 

Family is everything

One thing I learned is that family will be the only one who will help and support you when the world turns its back against you. You can lose everything in an instant—money, career, material things, and friends but family will hold you forever. There may be times when misunderstandings will happen once in a while but at the end of the day, your family will be the only one who will truly care for you and love you unconditionally. I used to be so busy at work before, giving so little time to my two adorable kids. Now, I make sure to give more quality time with my kids because I might not get another chance to do it. Treasure them and show them how much you value them while you still have the chance. 

Career is temporary 

I am one of the lucky few who is still able to work and earn even during the lockdown. But I have seen how thousands of employees suffer the consequences of being out of work. No matter how hard-working or how good you are as an employee, we are all dispensable. While most businesses don’t want to shut down and let its employees stop production, this whole pandemic forced everyone to temporarily paused their work. Even major industries are struggling and many established businesses were shaken and most of them don't know what will happen after this pandemic is over. A few might survive but the majority will not make it.

Money is powerless 

Before this ever happened, my usual problem would be the lack of money. I feel that I’m not earning enough to buy the things I want. And I thought that if I have more, I can have the luxury to get the material possessions in this world. But I was so wrong. Now, I have the money but it’s useless. Aside from food and some basic necessities, I can’t buy anything now. Those who were directly affected by the virus would know how useless money is during this time. Those who happen to acquire the virus can't make their money save them. No matter how much you have, your money can’t cure you of this disease. Money loses its power over this health issue. This for me is a realization that money is important but it is not everything and there are other things more powerful than money.

Small things keep us sane

Waking up daily and having something on the table is a huge blessing. I have realized that before, I used to always rant about not having enough sleep due to long hours of work or not being content with the food I’m eating. But now, I’m thankful that I still get to eat more than 3 times a day while others don’t even have anything on their plate. I feel so blessed to be sleeping in a comfortable bed with AC on full while others don’t have a decent place to stay. The trips to the grocery that I feel like an obligation before suddenly becomes a sign of relief that I will still have something for the coming days. These are the things I didn’t see before and these may sound simple but I have to admit, these little things make me feel blessed.

It's never too late to start a new hobby

I am not sure if it's my age or boredom that led me to take care of plants, but either way, I'm happy I did. Before the quarantine days, I don't have a single plant in my house. I love flowers but I never have the initiative to take care of them. Not until I started to see my social media feeds with different plants from friends. And after almost 3 months of staying at home, I now have 15 plants, most of it I bought online but some I grew from seeds. These plants gave life a new meaning. I feel excited to wake up each morning so I can water them and whenever I see them growing leaves already, I feel a different level of happiness, self-fulfillment, and most importantly, hope that something great will soon bloom.

Back to basic life isn’t too bad after all

Life now has been reset and now we are back to those times where we don’t have traffic, lesser pollution because most vehicles are off the road and living a simple life. At first, I feel irritated because I can’t do the usual stuff that I’m doing like going out but over time, I saw the wonders of this kind of life. Now, the skies are clearer and in the morning, I can hear the chirping birds. Nature and the environment were healing. Life now feels slow because most people don’t have to be in a hurry just to finish a task. We are now all more relaxed. I take this time to enjoy things I am unable to do before. Reading a good book while having an iced lemon tea becomes my morning ritual. Taking it slow and enjoying every moment of it made me realize how beautiful and uncomplicated life is. 

Some things have already changed as we have less strict quarantine rules now but still not the normal life that we used to know. My hope for a better tomorrow and a grand wish of getting back to normal the soonest are some of the things that make me want to keep moving. Someday, the streets will be busy again. Kids will be back in school. Work would resume and the economy will boom again. It's a matter of time. For now, aside from waiting patiently and keeping those around me healthy and safe, all I can do is pray that this pandemic ends sooner than expected.

*This story is an entry to ComCo Southeast Asia’s “Write to Ignite Blogging Project”. The initiative is a response to the need of our times, as every story comes a long way during this period of crisis. Igniting and championing the human spirit, “Write to Ignite Blog Project” aims to pull and collate powerful stories from the Philippine blogging communities to inspire the nation to rise and move forward amidst the difficult situation. This project is made possible by ComCo Southeast Asia, co-presented by Eastern Communications and sponsored by Electrolux, Jobstreet, and Teleperformance.