I just want to write down the important near normal events that God had so privileged my husband and I to have despite the pandemic. Relieving the events, so I will not forget:
November 30, 2021 - Lucas and I made arrangement with our parish priest for a scheduled confession at Queen of Peace Church. It was coincidentally the birthday of Father Simeon Samson Jr. too, our parish priest. I was very emotional during the confession. I wanted so much for God to have mercy on us.
December 3, 2021 - Lucas and I went to the City Health office to get our booster shot around two o’clock in the afternoon. We got Pfizer for booster from the recommendation of Dr. Jorge Padilla, the neurologist who had been seeing Lucas for home service lately.
December 8, 2921 - My husband attended our first mass since March 15, 2020. It was the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. A holiday of obligation and a national holiday as well. I was again very emotional. I so wanted God to heal us all. Lucas and I had a hard time getting back to the schedule of attending mass. Lucas was kind of restless the night before.
December 12, 2021 - Our first Sunday mass since the lockdown. We attended the second mass at eight o’clock in the morning. There were few people only, as most of the church goers attended the Misa de Gallo at early dawn.
December 17, 2021 - Lucas and I got our flu vaccines at Queen of Peace Church premise in the morning. After the flu shots, we visited the cathedral. It was really my wish to visit the cathedral for I used to be a frequent visitor of the church. The church was quiet as usual. It felt good to do so and pray at the church. Afterwards we bought burger and apple pie at Macdonald’s. Although we mostly limited our going out to the church, it was good to be able to go out again.
December 19, 2021 - We confined our church activities mostly to attending masses, yet I was scared since more people are going out already and the church is becoming full. I was selfish. I was hoping the church would have fewer people. Lord, please put an end to this pandemic already.
December 24, 2021 - We celebrated Christmas at our home and in our hearts. We spent the day at home with peace in our hearts but blasting with Christmas songs at the sala. I prepared a little bit of nice food like noodles and ham and fruit salad. We shared the food with our househelps too. Thank God for them. The food were not lavish though since Philippines specially Visayas region was just recently hard hit by typhoon Odette. I was most thankful that my son Tom and his family in Cebu City got their power and water back before Christmas. At least they will have a little normalcy on Christmas Day. Thank God for this. They had dinner with my son Emil and his wife Sue and my daughter Martha who was in Cebu for the holidays. Emil’s place was still out of power but they had generator and were assured to have generated lights for three days. Thank God for this also. Thank you God for the best Christmas gifts to me and my family. I love you Lord. Happy birthday my Lord Jesus Christ! Thank you for your great love.
December 25, 2021 - Lucas and I attended Christmas mass at 8 in the morning at Queen of Peace Church. Since the misa de gallo has ended, there were plenty of attendees during the eight o’clock morning mass. Lucas and I went to church early and selected to be seated at the first front pew, so it wouldn’t be crowded. My sister Jeannette was there on the other side of the aisle and she was coughing. There was another guy at our back, Oscar Tan Abing if I was not mistaken who was coughing too. I gave my sister additional mask to cover her mouth. I was kind of scared. We kept our distance all the time, but some people didn’t know how to keep distance. Some people didn’t know how to observe pandemic discipline.
December 26, 2021 - We attended Sunday mass. Our activities were mostly confined to church. But after church, we would request our driver to go to Jollibee or Macdonald’s drive-thru to buy hamburger, spaghetti, pie. We were always hungry after the mass. Hehehe.
December 31, 2021 - We had new year’s eve dinner at Lucio’s place. There were only 5 of us namely Lucio (Lucas’ eldest brother), his wife Conchita, nephew Eugene, Lucas and I. On the way to LCT Bodega for dinner, (We were picked up by Eugene’s driver) we passed by the plaza, the fruit stands and the barbecue stands. We were shocked that there were a lot of people milling around. The crowds anywhere were not observing distancing protocol and a lot of people were not wearing mask either. Infact there seemed to be an overcrowding of people despite the drizzles. There were plenty of people eating at the barbecue stands unafraid of the pandemic. It seemed to be that my husband and I were only the people who were scared. At Lucio’s residence though, I was very happy and enjoyed this dinner with them. It was so nice to have this near normal gathering. After dinner, we went home early and went to sleep before midnight, before the firing of firecrackers began. We woke up through the noise though. Happy new year everyone!!!
January 1st, 2022 - We attended new year’s mass, the Solemnity of the Mother of God. As usual, there were always fewer people on New Year’s Day compared to Christmas Day.
January 2nd, 2022 - We attended Sunday mass but decided to look out and take precaution next Sunday since omicron variant has reached the Philippines.
January 5, 2022 - I attended the first Friday mass at 6:30 AM. Very few people on weekdays.
January 6, 2022 - Lucas and I decided to brave it out and go to Kusiong Beach on Thursday morning, a weekday. Aside from fearing the pandemic, we were also scared about safety on the way. Anyway we were glad for the decision. The whole beach front was empty. We didn’t swim though because there was no proper bathroom for changing clothes, rather we just stepped barefooted on the sand and the seawater. We called it grounding by the way. It was supposed to get rid of our bodily pains and maladies. Hehehe. We also enjoyed eating snacks on the beach. For the first time and the longest time, we drank cold soda. It was a splurge of appetite. We really did enjoy our beach escapade. The driver and the maid pick up a lot of stones and peebles for us too. I was so happy to have enjoyed the sea breeze and the water and the sand. Thank you God for giving us this opportunity. Thank you.
After January 6, 2022 - there has been a big surge of covid cases in the Philippines and Cotabato as well. We decided to stay put and stay home until this crisis be over. But we are scared since even people who are vaccinated get the sickness too. O God, please spare and protect us all from this pandemic. We believe, we hope and we trust in you. Have mercy O Lord. Have mercy.
