The 5-Ps I got during quarantine

At the start of 2020, I was already looking forward to my daughter’s school vacation. I started looking for summer workshops for her to attend. I’m also preparing our documents for our trip outside the country in June. I like planning things ahead, I never really liked surprises especially if that surprise means being locked down inside your home and wearing a mask is a must when going out.

All of a sudden, most countries came to a halt due to COVID-19. Some call it lockdown, Singapore calls it circuit breaker, we call it community quarantine. But whatever it’s called, it has changed the way we live, hopefully not for long.

My husband, Jeff, was supposed to leave on a work trip to Mindoro 2 days before the lockdown. We’re all thankful that he didn’t go or else, he will be a locally stranded individual (LSI) there, and I will be left alone with my daughter for 3 months. It was a close call.

To add to our worries, Gwen suffered from a very bad cough for 2 months. This gave us a scare, we didn’t get enough sleep because Gwen wakes up 2-3 times at night coughing. We were scared, stressed, and sleepless. Imagine, getting sick in the midst of COVID-19 and Gwen’s pedia is not holding clinic at that time. Our friends who work in the hospital also advised us not to go to unless it’s really an emergency. But thank God for online consultations, the new prescription from a doctor friend worked.

During the first few days of ECQ, it’s a shame on my part that I still felt happy because “Hey! We’re all together, safe and sound inside our house. Who needs to go to work anyway.” But reality crept in, we have bills to pay and we need to eat. Just like every Filipino, I came to worry for my family and for the country.

I tend to (over)think when I worry, here are the 5 Ps I learned during this pandemic.

PAUSE

Before the pandemic, our daily lives were like clockwork. We wake up to the sound of the alarm clock, rush to work, bury ourselves in our jobs, brave the rush hour traffic to go home, eat dinner, sleep, and repeat 5 times a week.

Because of COVID-19, we all learned to pause. Pause to appreciate the sunrise, to wake-up to the smell of coffee, and to find peace watching your daughter sleeping.

Come to think of it, we needed that pause to have more time to what really matters, our family, health, and passion.

PURPOSE

After a few days of eat-sleep routine, it can’t go on like this. Life should be lived with a purpose. Just like our hero front liners who gave their lives just to serve others.

Inspired by Mommy Levy’s Pantawid Gutom Project, I also launched the Bayanihan (Mommies Edition) wherein chosen moms will get money for her own needs plus extra that she can use to help others. Hopefully, that started a Pay It Forward and sparked inspiration to others.

It’s not all about giving donations too. Sometimes, giving a call or a having a quick chat to friends as their support group helped them in staying sane.

PATIENCE

Jeff’s work was severely affected by the lockdown. The construction industry got a heavy blow and all suffered from losses. But I know that everything happens for a reason and in God’s timing, things will work out according to His will.

PERSEVERANCE

True enough, Filipinos are very resilient. Give it some time and we can look for solutions. I am very thankful for online sellers here in our village, their perseverance to sell and serve the homeowners made my life easier.

Work from home setup is close to impossible if you have kids at home, but as the saying goes, “Pag gusto may paraan, pag ayaw maraming dahilan.”

PRAY

This pandemic swept us by surprise. But this invisible enemy can also be defeated with an invisible yet powerful force. I’m praying that the world will wake up one day with zero cases. That all who experienced downfalls will slowly rise up.

And I’m praying that after this pandemic, we will not forget the lessons it taught us. I learned that when stripped off with our careers, fancy cars, designer bags, and trendy clothes… all we have is family.

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.