Two front teeth? Why the heck should they bring about melancholy, you ask.
My 6-month old daughter now has two teeth, her lower middle two front teeth, to be exact. And though seeing them made me feel proud and happy that she is developing well, that she is on her way to becoming a toddler soon, at the same time it made me sad.
Her two front teeth for me represent the beginning of her steps to independence. She can now start to chew semi-solids. Eventually she will graduate to eating crunchier (and hopefully still healthy) stuff. Then she will move on to thinking for herself and moving independently -- crawling, standing, toddling along, then on to full blown walking and running.
And before I know it she will be grown up.
The logical part of my brain tells me that this is not yet to come for several years more. However, the mothering part of me can't help but feel melancholic at this. Of course, nobody wants their children to be fully dependent on them forever. Everybody wants their children to grow up the best at anything and everything.
I guess what I'm trying to drive at here is that when my kids are all grown up, I will pine for the days when they were young and innocent and carefree. When Mama and Papa could solve almost everything for them. When their world was simple and uncomplicated.
I cannot prevent the cares of the world from being part of my daugters' lives, anymore than I can stop the passage of time. I can just cherish the moments when they are still small and look at me with shining eyes and want to be with me always.
Time will come when they will have their own wings and soar on their own.
Until then though, I will count my blessings and be thankful. My little girl's songs and dances and artwork. My baby's gurgles and laughter, even as her two front teeth make me both happy and sad.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
How Does One Begin to Rebuild a Life?
How does one begin to rebuild a life?
I will not even presume to know how difficult and heart-wrenching it is going to be. In the aftermath of Ondoy -- when Mother Nature unleashed her fury with torrential rains battering the Philippines and sweeping away everything in ther path -- the process of cleaning up, sorting, throwing away, rebuilding, coming to terms, must now begin.
People have been saying that Ondoy was a great equalizer, as no distinctions were made between the well-off and those who lived hand-to-mouth. Shanties were washed off, but concrete houses were fully submerged. Dependable and sturdy 4-wheel drives were no match for the raging currents, and so people could be seen riding makeshift rafts, boats and even basins. Retaining walls collapsed over houses and people, appliances floated away from owners, people hanging on to anything for dear life. No discrimination was made.
It seemed as if there was no escape from this force of nature. Ondoy has given that oft-used phrase a new meaning. Force. Of. Nature.
Force. The massive volume of water that fell down from the skies in 6 hours were the equivalent of 1 month's worth of rain. Imagine how the drainage systems would hold up (they didn't), the suddennness with which dam breach levels were reached (extremely fast, causing dam gates to be opened to release the pressure, contributing even more to the floods), the quickly rising floodwaters taking everyone by surprise and submerging whole houses, fast-flowing waters just sweeping everything in its path.
Nature. People who have not directly experienced a calamity brought about by Nature may not fully appreciate the devastation and hopelessness that it can bring. Modern technology and conveniences may have convinced some that we have come close to predicting and harnessing the power of Nature. But still everyone was caught by surprise.
Internationally known architect and urban planner Felino Palafox, Jr. has said that "government agencies and private developers are jointly liable for the massive loss of life and property in several Metro Manila cities for practicing poor urban planning and allowing commercial and residential structures to be built in flood-prone areas" such as the Marikina Valley, the western shores of Laguna de Bay, and the Manila Bay coastal area, as these have already been identified in a 1977 study funded by the World Bank as being prone to flooding and earthquakes.
Where was proper planning and zoning here indeed? What special precautions were built into the residential and commercial development plans for these areas? Were people adequately warned and made ware of the risks inherent in building their abodes in these places? Has the government provided funding to address these risks?
Crucial questions that need concrete and crucial answers.
Ondoy has brought untold grief to the country, but there are precious moments shining through all of these as well. Countless people have given freely of their time and resources in contributing to the relief efforts. Unsung heroes have bravely plunged into the waters to save people they did not even know. Filipinos have banded together to help fellow countrymen in need.
Bayanihan at its finest.
I have been lucky enough to escape being directly hit by Ondoy. Although there was no electricity for some time in my parents' house, this was a relatively minor inconvenience, and thankfully they were not flooded inside the house. My in-laws' house was not so lucky though, as floodwaters reached the ground floor of their home. Vehicles stood in floodwaters for some time, some appliances floated, some belongings completely submerged, but otherwise they came through unscathed.
Some relatives and friends were not so fortunate though. Whole villages and houses went underwater, forcing people to clamber up to their roofs in an effort to stay clear of the water until rescuers came. Some had to stay in other houses with upper floors just to stay safe. Vehicles were rendered unusable. Treasured books and keepsakes were soaked through and through. Furniture and wood panelling cracked. Pets and appliances and belongings floated away, to be deposited who-knows-where, never to be seen again.
Although I did not directly know anybody who was swept away by the floods or worse, trapped or drowned, but my heart breaks every time I see footages of people who are now displaced, looking for loved ones amidst the debris, becoming shell-shocked at what now awaited them, some of them not expecting it at all as they were relatively well-off for a start. The great equalizer indeed.
An aunt told me that physically they were okay, that they were safe and nobody got hurt during the time that Ondoy was pouring tons of rain on the metropolis. They were emotionally scarred though, and that can take a longer time to heal. The destruction wreaked by the storm has left countless people reeling.
How does one begin to rebuild a life that has been broken, forever changed by this event?
Sorting through the debris and looking at what can still be salvaged can be a very emotionally draining activity. Searching for lost loved ones even more devastating. It has to be done, even if the future now seems more uncertain than it ever has been.
In the end, one can only do it the best way he can, with faith and with hope.
One day at a time.
I will not even presume to know how difficult and heart-wrenching it is going to be. In the aftermath of Ondoy -- when Mother Nature unleashed her fury with torrential rains battering the Philippines and sweeping away everything in ther path -- the process of cleaning up, sorting, throwing away, rebuilding, coming to terms, must now begin.
People have been saying that Ondoy was a great equalizer, as no distinctions were made between the well-off and those who lived hand-to-mouth. Shanties were washed off, but concrete houses were fully submerged. Dependable and sturdy 4-wheel drives were no match for the raging currents, and so people could be seen riding makeshift rafts, boats and even basins. Retaining walls collapsed over houses and people, appliances floated away from owners, people hanging on to anything for dear life. No discrimination was made.
It seemed as if there was no escape from this force of nature. Ondoy has given that oft-used phrase a new meaning. Force. Of. Nature.
Force. The massive volume of water that fell down from the skies in 6 hours were the equivalent of 1 month's worth of rain. Imagine how the drainage systems would hold up (they didn't), the suddennness with which dam breach levels were reached (extremely fast, causing dam gates to be opened to release the pressure, contributing even more to the floods), the quickly rising floodwaters taking everyone by surprise and submerging whole houses, fast-flowing waters just sweeping everything in its path.
Nature. People who have not directly experienced a calamity brought about by Nature may not fully appreciate the devastation and hopelessness that it can bring. Modern technology and conveniences may have convinced some that we have come close to predicting and harnessing the power of Nature. But still everyone was caught by surprise.
Internationally known architect and urban planner Felino Palafox, Jr. has said that "government agencies and private developers are jointly liable for the massive loss of life and property in several Metro Manila cities for practicing poor urban planning and allowing commercial and residential structures to be built in flood-prone areas" such as the Marikina Valley, the western shores of Laguna de Bay, and the Manila Bay coastal area, as these have already been identified in a 1977 study funded by the World Bank as being prone to flooding and earthquakes.
Where was proper planning and zoning here indeed? What special precautions were built into the residential and commercial development plans for these areas? Were people adequately warned and made ware of the risks inherent in building their abodes in these places? Has the government provided funding to address these risks?
Crucial questions that need concrete and crucial answers.
Ondoy has brought untold grief to the country, but there are precious moments shining through all of these as well. Countless people have given freely of their time and resources in contributing to the relief efforts. Unsung heroes have bravely plunged into the waters to save people they did not even know. Filipinos have banded together to help fellow countrymen in need.
Bayanihan at its finest.
I have been lucky enough to escape being directly hit by Ondoy. Although there was no electricity for some time in my parents' house, this was a relatively minor inconvenience, and thankfully they were not flooded inside the house. My in-laws' house was not so lucky though, as floodwaters reached the ground floor of their home. Vehicles stood in floodwaters for some time, some appliances floated, some belongings completely submerged, but otherwise they came through unscathed.
Some relatives and friends were not so fortunate though. Whole villages and houses went underwater, forcing people to clamber up to their roofs in an effort to stay clear of the water until rescuers came. Some had to stay in other houses with upper floors just to stay safe. Vehicles were rendered unusable. Treasured books and keepsakes were soaked through and through. Furniture and wood panelling cracked. Pets and appliances and belongings floated away, to be deposited who-knows-where, never to be seen again.
Although I did not directly know anybody who was swept away by the floods or worse, trapped or drowned, but my heart breaks every time I see footages of people who are now displaced, looking for loved ones amidst the debris, becoming shell-shocked at what now awaited them, some of them not expecting it at all as they were relatively well-off for a start. The great equalizer indeed.
An aunt told me that physically they were okay, that they were safe and nobody got hurt during the time that Ondoy was pouring tons of rain on the metropolis. They were emotionally scarred though, and that can take a longer time to heal. The destruction wreaked by the storm has left countless people reeling.
How does one begin to rebuild a life that has been broken, forever changed by this event?
Sorting through the debris and looking at what can still be salvaged can be a very emotionally draining activity. Searching for lost loved ones even more devastating. It has to be done, even if the future now seems more uncertain than it ever has been.
In the end, one can only do it the best way he can, with faith and with hope.
One day at a time.
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