“Our Tuesday Walk”

December 15, 2020

Tuesday

It's December 15, and 10 more days to go it's Christmas! Despite the pandemic, Christmas won't be postponed and it's nearly coming. The cool breeze in the air is can be felt by everyone. However, today's season isn't as livelier as it is last year. Due to the safety health protocols wherein gatherings like Christmas parties and reunions are prohibited and only a few can go out to the malls and parks, with respective age limits. This is to keep the citizens “virus-free” for a healthier Christmas.

Our municipality, which is the Christmas Capital of Western Visayas has no Christmas decorations this year. Our mayor decided not to celebrate the festival, Iwag Festival, this December for the safety of the people.

(I've shared here an article about the “Iwag Festival ” held in our municipality annually, you can check it here.)

How are you going to celebrate Christmas this year?

This morning, we woke up with a smile on our faces, it's my partner's day off today. He spent his whole week at work and the kids missed him a lot. We started our day with a cup of coffee and do our things as usual. I just do the laundry today, even though the weather wasn't so good. We've experienced light rains this morning which added coldness to the gloomy weather.

When the afternoon came, as my son Near woke up from his nap, he asked for a walk. Every day off of his father, they're taking a short walk in a nearby street on the way to a public cemetery. That street was supposed to be my playground before when I was still young. I made an article about it here before. (If you want to read it please check it here.)

The weather was still gloomy and the rain is about to fall, however, it doesn't happen, so we took a walk this Tuesday afternoon. The kids were very happy and excited. It's just an ordinary walk in an ordinary place but their joy was priceless. Maybe because it's been a while since we take a walk all together. While walking, we passed by a sari-sari store which was located beside the street we walked in. My little boy Damien, likes to go to the sari-sari store every time. It's because he knows that there are lots of foods to be chosen and to be picked there. As we reached the store, he stopped and turned around, and his direction was straight to the store.

Look at him, he was mumbling in that picture while looking at the goods being displayed. He was very fond of eating since he turned a year old. As his father told him and held his hand to continue to walk, he refused.

Instead, he walked to a less grassy area so that he can reach the goods. But, his mission wasn't successful because he was shocked by the barks of the dogs inside the store. 😅

We continued to walk and they've enjoyed it very much. And me, I just loved to walk behind them to take some precious photos of them. I love it when I saw them happily walking and talking very innocent.

This photo was taken the moment Damien saw some goats inside a barn. He likes the goats very much he likes every animal he saw. He suddenly walked faster towards the location of the goats, but his father stopped him. It was private property and besides, there are a lot of unruly dogs there. So, they stayed near the open gate to have a glimpse of the goats from afar.

As the sky suddenly turned darker, I told them that it's time to go home. While on the way home, I saw some plants at the roadside, so I took pictures of some. It's been a while since I saw some different plants outside. And the street brings back lots of memories with me. Though it was not cheerfuller as before during the time where we played from dawn till dusk, it was the same street with the same different plants around it. Truly a remarkable piece of my childhood.

Here are some photos I've captured.

It's truly good to take a stroll to get your self to be energized and active. Most especially when you are together with your loved ones. This simple day reminds me of how it is important to spend some moments with my family. Even this simple walk counts a lot. As we reached the house, the kids were very satisfied. My partner and I were very happy to see the fun on their faces.

While taking our afternoon coffee together, we didn't miss to talk about this upcoming Christmas. We were excited for the kids, though we may not celebrate a grand celebration, what's important is, we are complete and happy together. Well, for us, the real essence of the Christmas season is not a house full of Christmas lights and decors, nor having a tall and elegant Christmas tree full of gifts underneath it and giving costly presents. Christmas means sharing what you have, not only just material things but also those that can only be felt in the heart, even a simple thank you, showing our appreciation to our loved ones and forgiveness among others. If only we can make every day our Christmas day, it would be a wonderful society to live in.

The gifts and the material things aren't needed for them to be happy. Though it may give them happiness it is only temporary. So, we will just do our part to make their Christmas a delighted and memorable one even without the material aspects.

We have different views about this Christmas season, and whatever of these are meaningful to you this holiday season, just remember that it’s the thought that counts. We can always share our love, gratitude, time, and care to the people we love or the people around us even it's not Christmas day.

“Peace on earth will come to stay, When we live Christmas every day.” – Helen Steiner Rice

Advance Merry Christmas, my virtual friends! I hope this season will give you so much fun, love, and hope. Wishing for a more fruitful, healthy, and safer year next year.

@eommaZel ✍🏻🥀