Staying in my square-meter world

Photo from Unsplash

Since my WFH started, when the line of work and life became almost non-existent, my weekends and time-offs are more important to me than ever. Like a prisoner on parole, I definitely look forward to going out on my day-offs even if the risk of catching Covid is there. 

In my defense, I need it to treat my anxiety from being cooped up in the house for days (which is true) and I had to refresh. Walking is my main form of exercise; going to the mall and doing a little shopping is the easiest way for me to hit that 10,000 steps. Often I treat myself to a nice lunch, or maybe just sit at my favorite coffee shop and fritter the day away—all while making sure I follow the basic protocols strictly. 

But with the speedy surge that’s been happening in Metro Manila, even an “itchy feet” like me would choose to stay home if my reason for going out is not important. Yesterday, the number of new cases hit 5,000—the highest it has ever been since August of last year and experts predict it could go as high as 7,000 daily infections in the coming days. 

This is probably due to a lot of things; some said it might be because of the new strain variant of Covid making contagion a lot faster. But perhaps the surge is simply because more people are getting lax. I noticed many are no longer following basic safety protocols like social distancing and proper wearing of face masks/shields. I guess many people thought that since there are already vaccines available, then they can revert back to their old way of doing things. 

The government also refused to declare another lockdown because they said the economy has to recover (they even gloat that their response to Covid is “excellent”). The most that the Metro Manila leaders can do is to impose uniform curfew hours which is between 10PM-5AM for two weeks. Clustered lockdowns are being done to areas with high cases, just as they did to our barangay a few weeks ago, which has since been lifted.

This may sound OA to some but staying home is a sacrifice for me. While our home will remain my place of comfort and security, I still need that change in environment whenever I can—even if it’s just to a nearby park or mall. 

And summer’s in full blast, which if you’re from this country you’ll know that it can be unforgiving even when inside an AC'd room. The other day I had dizzy spells and an ear-splitting headache again, which is common to me around this season. My room is facing west and it’s a sunbath every afternoon, so go figure.

Miss, you're not going anywhere.

Apart from the reason that most houses can transform into giant microwave ovens, it’s not easy to stay home when you have noisy nephews that would suddenly burst into the room and go Tita Vayie-this and Tita Vayie-that non-stop. It’s a different level of stress when you hear kids fight; with one crying out loud while the other is yelling. While it can end quickly as it started, expect to see this many times in a day. 

Speaking of fights, sometimes I’d end up fighting with my kuya for something so petty, perhaps because the two of us can no longer stand each other. Sometimes he will snap at me or I on him, then we'll give each other the silent treatment. My mommy’s nagging over the little things can also make me want to get out of the house.

It’s true that staying home can be suffocating, but when I think about the possibility of getting Covid while outside, therefore wasting a year of lockdowns, restrictions, and adapting to the new normal—I thought I should just grin and bear it for the moment. Sometimes you see, it’s not just about what you do but what the people around you do. I can be all too careful but if I interact with a person who isn’t as cautious or as heedful, then it doesn’t make me safe.

But for everybody’s sake, I will stay home and try not to go out if I could. Of course, I still have to do my errands to the grocery, to the ATM machine, or do my weekly laundry. Just no malling, shopping, or Sunday afternoon coffee for now. 

The only silver lining about this stay-at-home rule I begrudgingly impose myself is that it can save me money, something I need to do now that I’m broke. (Let’s pray I don’t fall for the online shopping trap, though.)

I envy those who said how pretty easy it is for them to stay home that they actually prefer it. How they can withstand a siege just by reading books, sleeping, or watching Netflix. I wish I can think of a new hobby that would occupy my time. I wish I don’t have a short attention span on most things. I really do.

If I may be honest, I don’t know how long I can stay at home. For all we know, something might just tick me enough to make me swoosh out of here in a New York minute. 

***

Yesterday, we spent the afternoon having fun with my nephews (who are also as sick of this “stay-at-home” mandate). We played pick-up sticks, jackstone, and other board games like snakes and ladders, which we ourselves played when we were little kids. We wanted to expose them to these kinds of games to get their butt off their cellphones. 

Gavin is getting to be good at pick-up sticks beating me and his tito Momon.   

Later that day we celebrated Gavin’s 9th Birthday (a day late, since his birthday is on the 12th) with the usual cake-blowing tradition. No party and guests because of the pandemic so my brother just had Jollibee meals delivered to give away to everyone. It was just a simple celebration but we promised him that when things are okay, we’ll have better birthdays for him and his little brother Liam. 

I have no gift for my little hawk yet as I don’t know what to give him anymore. Gone are the days when I can go to Toys“R”Us and get him anything and he’d be happy. He had outgrown most of his toys and it’ll be the little one who’d get to enjoy it more. Gavin is now at an age where giving him what he truly likes would make us break the bank (such as game consoles and similar stuff). He actually requested a Roblox birthday cake; I told him maybe on his next birthday.

Notice how Gavin has gained so much weight during this quarantine. When we first noticed he’s packing the pounds a few months ago, we were happy about it because he’s always been thin for his age. Now it’s getting a bit alarming.

 

All he does is eat and veg out without any other physical activity. Several days ago he fell asleep before lunch and we had a hard time waking him up we had to shake him. This scared me as we feel that his long periods playing cellphone, watching TV, sitting/lying on the couch is already making him slow and sluggish. Since then we encourage him not to eat too much and go and play basketball when he could. We warned him how obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease can affect children as well.

Sedentary lifestyle na nga si tita, sedentary din kayo. Wag naman.