Taking a Time Out

Stuck. That's exactly what I've been for almost a whole week. Stuck at home, that is. Not that I can really do anything much about it.

I sprained both my right and left ankles, after all. Yes, you read right. Both ankles. I was babysitting my 3-year-old nephew and 4-year-old niece Friday afternoon last week, you see. Well, hubby picked up our kids and six other nieces and nephews from school and when they arrived, the kids all pounded on our front door, excitedly knocking and shouting. The two tots then ran all the way down to greet them and I ran to follow them. Unfortunately, in my haste, I twisted my left foot on the second to the last step and knew I was going to skip the last step down, but couldn't stop myself anymore from falling. And so I did.

A good thing hubby was outside already. I was in so much pain. I landed on the floor hard and knew both ankles were sprained. I couldn't get up, but had to let him help me get to our bed. A good thing I landed just a couple of feet away from our bedroom door. Feet elevated and iced, hubby dear had to leave me for a few hours, though, since he had a class he couldn't miss. My sister-in-law and her husband came to my rescue an hour later. Not that I really needed anymore rescuing, but I badly needed to go to the toilet and it was up on the second floor. If that wasn't an emergency, I don't know what is. So, with one arm over my brother-in-law's shoulder and my other arm over my sister-in-law's, we made it upstairs one step at a time. Literally. We decided then that it would be to my best interest to stay upstairs. So they got me a pillow and propped me up on the sofa (after I did my thing, of course), made sure I was comfortable enough. Hubby left me a ham sandwich and some chips for dinner, and my sister-in-law left me a glass of water so I can sip some and won't get dehydrated. I really didn't want to drink any water lest I would have to go to bathroom again and wouldn't have any help for at least two more hours that night. Oh well... I could always crawl, I joked. Seriously, I didn't think that was possible, so I just slept after dinner.

Since that day, I've been mostly lying on the sofa, sleeping, reading, eating, Twittering, playing games on Facebook, with intermittent trips to the bathroom aided by my husband. I've been blessed with one of the best husbands ever, who just did all the household chores with some assistance from our two kids, helped me wash up and get dressed, and even slept on the adjacent sofa to keep me company at night.

I can't wait to wash my hair, though. It's getting oilier by the day, but I don't think I can stand inside the bathroom long enough to wash them. Yet.

Through all the pain and what should have been boredom, what has made things easier were my prayers. I never had so much time to pray, to talk to God. I offered my so-called suffering to all the dying souls, adopting one each day in the hope of that soul's conversion. I think of this time as His way of making me stop, slow down, and take a time out. So to speak.

I do hope I can be up and about in a few days, though, on time for my son's birthday party.

Start of Something New

Novelty has charms that make it all worthwhile. Well, maybe not all the time, but in our case, starting a new life in New Zealand does.

It all began with the New Year, when we consciously made effort to collect our documents for our application for migration to NZ. Our departure from the Philippines followed suit, which was coined by friends as having brought “new definition” to the term “independence” since we flew out of the country on 12 June. Winter was then a new experience for our kids, who inadvertently missed the heat of Cebu’s summer after the first few weeks of our arrival. New school, new jobs, new friends, new way of living. Out of our comfort zones and yet all quite thrilling.

After less than two months, we moved into our new flat: a two-bedroom, two-storey unit that’s just right for us, easy to maintain, and within short walking distance to the train station and to my sister-in-law’s house (quite important since our kids ride with them to and fro school, as well as stay there until we can pick them up after work and bring them home). On our own, we’re enjoying our new-found independence from household helpers and privacy. We’ve got new and sort-of-new appliances and furniture, to boot; some we bought and others given by relatives and KBNZ friends. We’ve recently bought a new (second-hand) car, too.

What is truly wonderful about starting anew is redefining the way we live so we would have a unity of life. That is, that our spiritual life is one with our social life, one with our professional life, one with our family life. We have but one life, after all. An ordinary life. As St. Josemaria Escriva once said, "There is something holy, something divine, hidden in the most ordinary situations, and it is up to each of you to discover it."

Having recently celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary, this is truly the perfect way to start a new decade of our married life.

Now, if we can only find new jobs…