The Morning After (PUSH and “at leasts”)

When I went to bed the night of July 15, despite DOST PAGASA’s warning, little did we know what would actually hit us.

Heavy rains and strong winds which brought about power fluctuations woke me up around 130am of July 16 (same date of the killer earthquake in 1990). I was scared that our roof would get blown away as the winds grew stronger and stronger. I kept on praying that I think I have called on all the saints in the world. 

I checked the kitchen and the dining room once more (as they are the most vulnerable areas in our house when it rains) and just stayed awake. Our wireless router is still on, and my mobile is still on 3G. Then around 4am, the power died. Same with my Globe signal. I got up to fill the bathroom pails with water as water supply is the first to go when power fails.

As usual, my restlessness roused Caehl and there we were, hugging each other, with his tiny stuffed monkey Avi, between us. “Mommy, protect me. Please pray,” he kept on saying.

Since I was not able to sleep at all, it was shortly before 9am when I finally came out of the room. Our front door was still locked, and all the windows were shut. It was still raining a bit. Come 1030am, it stopped, and the winds were dwindling.

I stepped out in our terrace. It was a messy lot. My laundry area was a disaster. I felt sorry for the fishes, as they have no oxygen, they were in a huddle in one corner of the aquarium. And what do you know, a wedding was going on in our parish. They probably decided it was too late to cancel it. Network signal was still out but I managed to receive a few SMS from my sister-in-law, friends and officemates. Checking out our street, we found a broken lamp post, with the lamp hanging on by a thread; broken branches and a fallen Max’s sign on Tita Helen’s store. 

 

Broken lamp post

 Bye Ninong Max!

   Poor fishy-fishy

Vehicles (owned by people attending the wedding) were parked in front of my house, a Suzuki APV blocking our driveway. A man, who lives on the next street, was shouting at the driver. 

“Hindi naman yata yan lalabas (referring to us / our car), i-parada mo na diyan.” 

The driver saw me watching them, “Hindi ba kayo lalabas?” he repeated. 

“Sabi mo eh,“ I replied, showing my annoyance. “Assuming ka.”

My point was, whether we were going out or not, you don’t just block someone else's driveway, right? The parking lot beside the church was big enough anyway.

After lunch (Question: What is it with rains that makes people hungry? My mag-aama ate heartily), I was again sleepy. Question 2: What is it with rains that makes people sleepy? I woke up around 3pm. Since it was already clear, I asked Caehl if he wanted to buy some stuff from the supermarket. Actually, all I wanted was to buy another box of champorado, as there was only one pack left in the cupboard. We had enough food and supplies anyway, it was just an excuse to get out of the house. Cabin fever. "To escape boredom," as Caehl put it.

In Pacita Complex, Caehl was counting fallen trees and store signs, shaking his head and hating all of it. In Shopwise, it was hot and the skeletal force was not enough for the shoppers. Again, despite the warnings from PAGASA, it seems everyone was not prepared, buying the storm essentials only on that afternoon, after Glenda happened.

While in line, Caehl almost had a tantrum attack (but mainly because he was hungry and he didn't know it).

The lady in front of us said something to her companion. Caehl turned to me and said, “Did you hear that, Mommy? She has no signal.”

He asked Alex, “How about you, Daddy? Do you have a signal?” When his dad said no, he was distraught. “What’s the percentage? As in 0 percent?”

“Mommy, it’s an awful day,” he said, starting to cry. I hugged and kissed him and assured him that everything will be all right. We just have to wait for power to be restored, I told him.

Then he said, “But at least, there are “at leasts” in what happened, Mommy.”

“What do you mean?" I asked.

“At least, we’re together, we’re safe, we have food, we have money to buy things, and we have our car back,” he enumerated. I guess this is his own version of counting blessings during a bad situation. “Just PUSH. Pray until something happens.“

The wisdom of a child indeed.

“How about you, Mommy? What are your at leasts?”

“Same as yours," I said, adding that at least, a tree didn't fall on our house, our roof was intact, there’s enough water supply. But - our laundry area was a disaster, I repeated my observation to him.

“Don’t say that,” he said.

“Say what?” I asked.

“Disaster," he replied. “Just PUSH.”

“You’re a changed boy,” Alex and I told him, ruffling his hair and admiring him.

Twilight. A view from our terrace

We shared champorado and dilis in the terrace as we all decided to dine al fresco for a change. Still with no electricity, our boy entertained us and our guests (Inna and Manang) with his funny stories and antics, and learned a card game.

When it was time to call it a day, Caehl, nudging closer to me, whispered, “Mommy, it was fun.”

“No longer awful?” I asked.

“Because we’re together and safe,” he said.

Remember, #JustPUSH.

~TheGoodGirl