How We Are Coping With Covid-19 Challenges

Most of us have been on home quarantine for almost two weeks now.

Even if time seems to pass by very slowly, we thank the Lord everyday for sustaining us, for providing for our basic needs, and for keeping us safe.

As the number of Covid-19 cases continues to grow, we can’t help but get worried sometimes about what’s going to happen to us.

But life must go on and the best thing to do right now is to pray and do our part by staying at home to lessen the risk of getting infected by the virus.

Let me share with you how this Covid-19 outbreak has affected us and how we are coping…

Macey’s Class Suspended

Macey’s class has been suspended starting March 10. Since then, we started homeschooling.

I’m glad I bought plenty of workbooks for her two weeks ago during their 3-day sale at the National Bookstore. She has more than enough to work on while we are on home quarantine.

Although there are a lot of free resources online, Macey prefers physical books and worksheets. She also loves drawing and coloring.

On March 14, we had a meeting in their school where we discussed how we will transition from traditional to home and school learning.

We will be using Google Classroom to access materials. We also have a dedicated Facebook Group for discussions and video tutorials.

Macey misses her teachers, her classmates, and their activities in school, but we’ll do our best to keep her busy at home.

I’m glad that Macey’s teachers are very proactive. They make sure that their students continue learning at home.

This home and school learning initiative is an active collaboration between the teachers and parents for the benefit of the students.

Macey’s class started in August and is supposed to finish on the last week of May. While most students from other schools are almost done with their school year, Macey and her classmates still have more than two months to complete their class.

Macey is going to grade school next school year and we haven’t found the right school yet.

We hope and pray that this Covid-19 pandemic will be over soon. We don’t know how long this will take and we don’t know what’s going to happen but we are hopeful that with God’s grace everything will be okay soon.

Vacation Trips Cancelled

Macey and I were supposed to go to Samar on March 30 for a week vacation, while my Mama and my eldest brother and his son were supposed to spend the summer vacation there until the end of May.

My younger brother and his wife who are based in Qatar were also supposed to come home for vacation this April.

But all our flights were cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Sad, but all we can do right now is to comply and stay at home for our safety. Good thing the airline offered options to rebook, refund, or convert our flights to Airline credits which we can use for our future flights.

I haven’t done this yet because the last time I tried their links I was just getting errors. I’m probably just going to get a refund and hopefully the process will be fast.

On the other hand, my Papa took the bus going to Samar last week because he had a lot of baggage and he had to get the house cleaned up before the rest of us arrive there supposedly on March 30.

He’s in Samar now, but he’s currently complying to his 14-day home quarantine.

Usually, when he is in Samar, he spends most of his time in our small farm which is located in the next town. But since he’s on strict home quarantine, he’s alone at home and he could not go out.

I know he’s bored and lonely, but we make sure that we call him everyday to check on him and to know what he’s doing.

He has a few more days to complete his 14-day home quarantine, but even then, I don’t think he can go to the farm yet because all barangays there are on “lockdown” now.

So I don’t know how he will make the most of his time there but I pray that God will continue to guide, provide, and protect him.

Morning Habits Affected

In my previous post, I shared with you my new morning habits which includes waking up early at 5AM and going to the park to walk and exercise. But since the Covid-19 outbreak, it’s been a challenge for me to wake up early.

I also could not walk outside and go to the park because it was temporarily closed and residents are advised to stay at home.

Even if I wake up late now (usually at 8AM), I still make sure I do the rest of my morning routine including praying and meditating, reading the bible and my daily devotional book, journaling, reading a book (currently reading The Midas Touch by Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump), and writing and reviewing my goals everyday.

I still walk and exercise at home but I usually do it at night.

Before, my daily goal was to achieve at least 7,000 steps. Now, I usually just reach 3,000 steps. I use my reliable Mi Fitbit smartwatch to track my steps.

It maybe challenging to stick to my morning habits now that we’re on home quarantine, but I will try my best to still follow it no matter what because it’s for my personal development.

I’ve been slacking off the past two weeks but I’ll try harder and do better this week. Help me Lord.

How My Day Looks Like Now

Like what I mentioned above, I usually wake up late now.

While Daddy do most of the cooking, I do most of the cleaning and other chores.

And since I homeschool Macey now, I spend some time preparing her activities and worksheets. Then we study and play together.

I let her use the Ipad but I choose the channel that teaches more about bible stories. Sometimes, I also let her watch Peppa Pig or Ryan’s Toy Videos which are her favorites.

I taught her how to set the alarm for 20 minutes and I’m glad she complies and turns off the Ipad when she hears the alarm. I let her use the Ipad twice a day (20 minutes each) or a maximum of 1 hour screen time per day.

We also spend time together in the garden in the morning before breakfast and in the afternoon after napping. We’ve been doing this since we started gardening in 2018.

Since I can’t be with her all day long because I also have some work to do, she also does a lot of things on her own.

She plays her toys. She plays the piano. She sings videoke. She draws and colors. She enjoys cutting pictures from her old coloring books. And she makes lots of notes and letters. I’m glad she loves writing too like me. 🙂

I always remind her to keep her toys and stuff after using them. Sometimes she does, sometimes she forgets to do it. She’s a work in progress, but I’m glad she’s improving.

Back to me, since the Covid-19 outbreak, I have also started watching the news on TV to get updated on what’s going on in the country and in the world. I usually watch TV at 6:30-7:30 in the evening.

I still read news feeds on social media and watch videos on YouTube but I try not to spend too much time on it. It kills my productivity.

On some days, I also watch movies on Netflix.

Who doesn’t love Netflix? 🙂

I can binge-watch on Netflix all day long if I want to but I try to control myself. I feel guilty when I watch Korean-Novelas. I don’t know why but it’s just so hard to pause or stop when I start watching it. Can you relate? 🙂 

I’m glad Daddy understands when I go to sleep late and wake up late after watching a movie series on Netflix. But of course, I don’t do it all the time because I don’t want to abuse his kindness and patience. hehe.

He doesn’t watch Netflix but he also has his own time watching his favorite videos on YouTube and playing computer games.

Our Food and Grocery Supply

Due to this Covid-19 pandemic, it has been a challenge for us to buy groceries and food supplies.

My husband went to Savemore this afternoon to buy groceries but he was advised to come back earlier tomorrow because of the long lines that already reached several meters away from the main entrance.

The last time we went to the grocery was on March 13. Aside from some items were already sold out like the alcohol and other disinfectants, we also waited for 3 hours to finally get to the cashier.

On Saturday, March 21, we were given a Home Quarantine Pass and we were told that only one member from our household can go out to buy food and necessities.

Since our barangay is on “lockdown”, we could no longer go to the wet market in the other barangay where we usually buy our food supply.

This means that we will have to buy our food in the wet market within the area which are limited and more expensive.

Things are getting more and more challenging as days go by, but we will continue to pray and trust God. He is still in control. This too shall pass.

We are one with President Duterte in praying for our safety, for our country, for our government officials, for our front-liners, and for everyone who is affected by this Covid-19 pandemic.

Let’s hold on to God’s words: Let us be still and know that He is God.

Things I’m Grateful For

Despite all the challenges and cancelled trips and plans, there are still so many things that I’m grateful for.

1. I’m grateful that we are healthy physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
2. I’m grateful for my family – for my husband for being a good provider, a good cook, and a reliable “fixer” at home; and for my daughter for giving us inspiration and joy everyday.
3. I’m grateful that my other family members are also coping and surviving during this challenging time.
4. I’m grateful that we have food on our table, we have roof over our head, and we have clothes on our back.
5. I’m grateful that my husband and I can still work at home and we still have the means to buy our needs.
6. I’m grateful that there are grocery stores and wet market near our house where we can buy our food and other necessities.
7. I’m grateful that we have a car that makes our trip to the grocery and market easier and convenient.
8. I’m grateful that we have good water supply, we have electricity, and we have internet.
9. I’m grateful that I have more time for our family. I have more time to teach Macey and play with her.
10. I’m grateful that I have more time to care for my plants and spend time with nature in my little garden.
11. I’m grateful that I can spend longer quiet times alone to pray, meditate, think, and journal.
12. I’m grateful that I have more time to read the bible and to know more about God and his teachings.
13. I’m grateful that our fellowship group continues to meet and study God’s words (online) and encourage one another during these trying times.
14. I’m grateful that I have more time to read books about personal development, financial management, and business which are essential to my work and advocacy.
15. Above all, I’m grateful that we have a God who gives us hope, peace, and joy even in times of troubles.

How about you? 

What’s your story and how are you coping with this Covid-19 pandemic?

Feel free to share your comments below. Stay safe and talk to you soon.