Yesterday, I celebrated my birthday.
For the past years, I usually celebrate it going for a spa treatment and eating out with friends or family,depending on my schedule. Now, it is so much different. I got to cook some spaghetti and banana bread and my partner bought cake for the two of us. There were no other visitors to share the food with. It was very simple and an upside is I don't feel the urge to treat all of my friends during these times.
You see, our community is still under MGCQ (Modified General Community Quarantine).
Public transportation is scarce. Most restaurants are open only for takeout and delivery. Dine-in at restaurants are at 50 percent capacity only and still considered optional. There are still a few cases of Covid-19 infected people. Everyone is scared. Even if I would want to invite my friends to celebrate my birthday with me or ask them to eat out, it would still be a hell of a lot of work and hassle not only for me, but for everyone as well.
I asked some friends whose birthday fell on the months of March up to present on what they did during these times. All of them said, they had no choice but to stay at home, cook or order some food for delivery and spent quality time with their family and loved ones. No one is able to dine out, party and travel out of town. We are still afraid to catch the virus from public places no matter how much a place says that all health preventive measures are practiced religiously. We can't just rely on words at this time without the total eradication of the virus or a working vaccine.
Everyone is left with no choice but to stay at home and celebrate their birthdays in simplicity.
On a positive note, celebrating one's birthday means that we are blessed with another year during these pandemic and trying times; that we are safe and healthy; that the hope of getting through these chaos still lives. We are in a new normal and with vigilance and perseverance, we will soon be back to celebrating not just birthdays, but also other special occasions, with people, food and with great joy and festivity in our hearts. This time, we are given the chance to live in silence and deep reflection of life and what really matters.
My son's birthday is also this June and he also celebrated it during quarantine. But nevertheless we tried our best to make the day special even when it's just us -our family..