IN YOUR free time, try whipping out that metal extension of your arm and scroll to the directory marked Gallery. Then, check out all those photos in there that were taken between 2018 and 2019. Give or take, there is going to be enough in there for you to reminisce how your world looked like before it was drastically changed by the coronavirus pandemic.
In my android’s gallery, I have assigned specific albums for friends, nanay’s food pics, then locales and events like gigs and such, yet among all these, my favorites are still those marked as Fam1 and Fam2. My pre-pandemic selections in these two albums are mostly filled with family reunions and the usual indoor and outdoor gatherings, which by today’s standards, would all be deemed illegal by the city government and worthy of a fine and imprisonment.
For me, these pics of our family gatherings remain as the closest remnants of what had been lost. Even if an end to the pandemic were in sight, I truly doubt if we could ever recapture those moments again. Yet, who knows, there are still many who believe in ‘never say never’, and even at that, my mom would say, “wag kang magsalita ng patapos.” As Google would translate it: Don’t speak at the end.
One thing though, when the day of zero-COVID comes, everyone is going to be hell-bent in trying to reclaim what they have perceived as “lost”, with no moment to spare. But then, I just might be kidding, of course.
Because definitely, with all the lessons of COVID-19, the lockdown and the quarantine rules, a lot of us, if not all, would have learned valuable lessons, most of which are life-changing no less. For one, wearing a mask will still be a really wise and healthy move after all. With the way we treat our environment these days, what’s more sensible than simply wearing a mask?
Also, a lot of people coming out of quarantine will be more likely to be health conscious, after seeing first hand how sickness can spread so quickly and affect those who are especially ill-prepared health-wise. As these go, the appreciation of home cooking might follow, as dining out may become second priority, even if only for a while, for many families.
However, the most important thing that may come out of a post-COVID era would be this: many will realize that after all that have transpired, it is still the family that will matter in the end. The pandemic has all but whittled away at the very fabric of life, taking friends, colleagues and even family members indiscriminately. In a sense, itto yushad turmed our way of living upside down, inside out and then, levelled us completely. It’ll only be natural that we hold those dear to us close.
Snapping out of this brief reverie, are you still holding close in your hand that metal extension slash android? Now, with your left hand, keep a charger ready, for longer life.
