Healing from the Worst Typhoon I've Experienced

Our home flooded often when I was growing up because there's a creek at the back of our house. I almost drowned during #OndoyPH. The water came up to fast and I was only able to save my desktop computer. Everything else went under water, my laptop, passport, books, shoes, photo albums... everything. It was traumatizing and I couldn't help but cry when I see videos of what's happening back home now. The typhoons that passed the last few weeks have been ruthless. 

I remember after I cleaned up I was feeling the shock of what just happened. I was sitting in the kitchen with my Dad and I started to cry. He nipped it at the bud and he immediately re-framed me from wallowing in self-pity. He said those are just things and you can earn it back. 

Look into the future. That's what my Ate taught me when I had Miggy at a young age. She had me talk to someone who went through the same situation. It was like talking to the future me. And I did the same right after #OndoyPH and #PepengPH. A few days after the great flood I had to fly to Iloilo for an engagement. I didn't want to go anymore, but our parents pushed us to go. 

Going to Iloilo helped me a lot because I met many people who shared similar experiences. A year before #FrankPH badly damaged Iloilo. One of my friends said that her home was flooded from floor to ceiling. They told me about how they slowly got up from the setback. 

Our parents pushed me and Sweetie to go to Iloilo even though our homes were not fixed yet. Our wedding was scheduled 13 weeks after the typhoons. They wanted us to focus on starting anew. Aside from the inspiration from friends, we had many people who also supported us. We started our new life and built up our little family from almost nothing. 

Look up and look into the future. The sun is always waiting to rise in the horizon everyday. I thought I'd write about this today in case you have family and friends who need comfort and consolation. 

My thoughts and prayers for everyone going through hardship and trauma. May God bless you. 

If you can help, more information on how you can donate can be found here.

#CB//220 #StuckAtHomeDay/250 #StayHome #BeKind

Typhoon Ulysses

I barely slept last night also even though I'm far away from home. I was worried for my family and friends. Reading their tweets about the howling winds, strong rain reminded me of a few typhoons I've been through - Ondoy, Basyang and experiencing the winds of Yolanda in Baguio. 

The past three weeks has been one typhoon after another - #QuintaPH, #RollyPH (the supertyphoon), #SionyPH, #TonyoPH and now #UlyssesPH. Being far away from home is hard. I monitor the news and make sure my family is prepared for the typhoon. I must admit after overpreparing for the first four typhoons we kinda got lax preparing for #UlyssesPH. It was too late when I realized that it was a strong typhoon that would hit Manila. 

Typhoon Ondoy.

And thus the sleepless night. I was still able to call my Mom. It was already late and I asked her why she was still up. She said she couldn't sleep because they had no electricity and she was monitoring the typhoon. She said she'll be okay. When I woke up I checked the tweets coming from my city and I came across a tweet about the electric post across my Mom's home. A tree was hitting it and creating sparks. 

A friend reached out to me and helped call the barangay to have the tree cut. Another neighbor also said that the electric post at the back of Mom's house was also being hit by a tree. I really appreciate the help of my neighbors (guardian angels) who responded to my plea. I'm thankful that everyone was well and safe at home. My Mom's garden was not spared and we still need to check if anything else is damaged at home. 

I'm worried though about my 99-year old uncle in Marikina. I'm not sure if he's still in Provident Village or if he moved with my cousins. I'm still waiting to hear back from my cousin. Dad (my father-in-law) in Marikina experienced flooding at home and he's okay. I pray he doesn't get sick from walking in flood water. In Bicol, it's been hard to reach my Tita Olive, so I've been monitoring Mayor Nino Tayco's page for updates about Pasacao. 

A friend posted that #UlyssesPH brought one month worth of rain and that's why there's a lot of flooding. Just like #OndoyPh most of us did not expect this kind of damage that #UlyssesPH brought. Always over prepare, that's a key lesson I learned from this typhoon. 

If you're feeling really stressed about the typhoons, my Kuya's video here may help you. 

Please take care everyone and stay safe. 

#CB//218 #StuckAtHomeDay/248 #WFH147 #StayHome #BeKind