One Year

March 12, 2020. It was on this day that I came home from Cebu. I had gone off for two things: work and my mother’s 3rd chemotherapy session. Last January 2020, my mother was officially diagnosed with Stage 3 Cancer. She had to undergo six chemotherapy cycles and one month of radiation therapy. My brother and I had agreed to split the cycles because he could not afford to take too much time off work. It was fine with my schedule because my trip dates depended on my time.

We were on the third cycle when the pandemic started. We had to have the fourth to sixth cycle at home, in our local hospital because travel was not possible. Her radiation therapy is also put on hold as traveling to Cebu right now seems scary. My mom is no longer taking any medication and she is slowly getting back to her old ways. She finished her last session last May and was supposed to start radiation therapy by June. She did lose all her hair but has long since grew it back, she is now always tending her plants and even sold a few pricey pieces. And buying many new plants in the process.

But my one year posy is not about that mainly. Rather it is about how I haven’t gone off to work and rode a plane, boat, or bus in a year. The only vehicles I have rode this year are: bicycle, tricycle, motorcycle, car and jet ski. Haha! Like seriously, I have not gone anywhere off this island since that date. But I am not complaining, mind. I am merely stating a fact. That I, whose job is to visit Visayas and Mindanao islands for work, is home and loving it. Sure, it would be nice to go around for a spell, eat food I have missed and see a different view. But the truth is, I don’t want to burst this bubble I am in.

There will soon be a vaccine for all of us, and my company is bound to force me to get one. By then, I will no longer have an excuse and will need to work for real. But for now, I am enjoying me-time, quality family time and just good old stay home time. I have become a homebody in the last decade or so that going anywhere is now a hardship for me. True, it may have affected our income but relationship wise, we are thriving. So this virus had something good going, too.

We are fortunate that none of my family has gotten seriously ill in the past year, save for my mom’s diagnosis. Even my 93 year old grandfather is doing well. He is tired most days but can still walk around and enjoy. We even take him to the beach and to family gatherings. So this one year can stretch to two years and we’re still good. I hope you will be, too.