Gratefulness Journal #1: The Gift of Home

✨What's up, Hive! It's Patsitivity!✨

I've been checking a few communities I'm interested in. Last time, I tried posting my old short story in the Writing club. I've been eyeing to post in this community for weeks now but haven't had the opportunity to do so. But the time has come; I guess this is the best community to share my recent experience about the Super Typhoon Odette [Rai].

It's been almost a week since Typhoon Odette [Rai] badly hit my hometown [Carcar City], my Province [Cebu] and its neighboring regions. I will not tell you how strong the typhoon was; you can Google all you want for all the technicalities of the typhoon.

In this post and in the next ones, I will be sharing stories about the recent incidents and encounters that unfailingly continue to change my view of life.

Preparation is key!

I have to say that my sister's the best example to emulate during these trying times. She has always been the "Girl Scout' in the family. Days before the typhoon was reported to make a 'possible' landfall in the Northeastern part of Mindanao, my sister had already started to prepare for basic needs - medicine, clean and dry clothes, bed sheets, pillows, ready-to-eat (RTE) food (canned goods, noodles, cereal, milk, coffee, Milo, etc.), fully charged emergency lights, flashlights, gadgets, and power banks.

Two days before the typhoon, she contacted the daughter of my mother's close friend and asked if we could stay in their house at the height of the typhoon. Without thinking twice, Joan welcomed us in their bungalow house.

I was staying in my boarding house in Cebu City when the low pressure area became a tropical depression and finally a Category 1 Typhoon in Wednesday, December 15, 2021. At the end of December 15, our company advised us to work from home on both December 16 and 17, 2021.

"This typhoons is something serious since we're advised to stay indoors", I thought. But I stayed calm and collected and went straight home after my last meeting that day.

As advised, I worked from home last December 16, 2021 like it was any normal day. In the afternoon, our local electricity provider (CEBECO) cut off the electricity as early as 3 PM. With no electricity, I tried to save my laptop's battery and stopped working, hoping that I can use the remaining life the following day. I took an afternoon nap and when I wake up, I was shocked to see the news that we were already under Signal No. 4. My fear came true, a Signal no. 1 typhoon became a super typhoon in less than 24 hours.

After having our dinner that day, my sister, together with the kids and my mother, directly went to Joan's house with all the necessary things that my sister initially prepared. Meanwhile, my father, brother and I stayed in our house. I couldn't leave home without my father. He's old and I certainly wouldn't be at peace knowing he's just at home all by himself. So my brother and I stayed with him until my sister called and convinced him that evacuation 2 hours before the landfall was the best option to take. I'm just thankful he took our advice.

The night of the storm

If asked how tragic and traumatic my first (and hopefully the last) super typhoon 'real' experience was, I'd say the it wasn't so bad at all. There were no near-death experience except the last-minute evacuation with my father and brother before Odette's landfall.

Joan’s house is huge and is made up of solid materials. It’s like the house was built to withstand super typhoons. When we were already inside, although we’d still hear the raging, growling sound of Super Typhoon Odette, it wasn’t that bad; it was comfortable, warm and most importantly dry; there's no way rain could get in in the living room area where everyone gathered that night. Only one room, where the air conditioning hole was left uncovered, troubled us with rainwater coming in. But it was manageable. I even had to slightly open the front door every now and then just to hear how bad the super typhoon was and to see the devastation with my own eyes.

It was almost ten (10) in the evening when we felt the strong wind continued destroying all that were outside - houses, buildings, trees, even the public cemetery across the house where we evacuated wasn't exempted. My niece and nephew and Joan’s grandson had no idea what was going on. Inside the house they were having the time of their lives, running here and there, laughing their hearts out, not knowing that tomorrow will be the start of a totally different life for all of us, at least for the next few weeks or months.

My mother, father and Joan couldn’t sleep because they’re too nervous. They decided to stay in the living room and took turns in sleeping. I, having nothing left to do, decided to sleep at around 11 PM. Once I fall asleep, it’ll be hard to wake me up. This is true in almost all situations – an earthquake and now a super typhoon.

A walk back home

_{Joan's front porch where her treasured plants didn't survive the night's strong winds}

I was awaken by the sound of silence. Everyone else was safe and soundly sleeping in the room where my family stayed. I hurriedly rose up, took my backpack and went out. I saw my mother in the front porch. She told me my father went to our house to check the possible damages. If there's clearing operations at home, I'm the best person to assist him. Without delay, I decided to follow my father.

_{My first view when I went out of the main gate of Joan's house}

Honestly, I was just at peace the entire time — from the moment the Signal No. 1 was raised until the moment the super typhoon made a landfall in an adjacent town. Not a single moment made me feel a hint of panic or nervousness kicked in inside me. It’s as if I’m sure that my family and I were in good hands.

It was a long, arduous walk back home. Home might be less than 500 meters away but what I saw along the way shocked me in ways I couldn’t put into words.

Here are photos I took on my way home:

“Oh my God!”, that’s the only words that came out of me when I saw the massive and terrible destruction the typhoon brought to our neighborhood.

One’s house got knocked down in pieces, impossible to put back together, fallen and uprooted trees were everywhere, roofs and debris of wreckage were scattered everywhere you look.

And there I walked towards our house, expecting the worst but hoping for the best, of course.

Our house is very old; I'd always joke that it's almost pre-historic. I personally didn't spend much dime in repairing it because the land where it's erected isn't ours. So seeing all the devastation on my way home, I was expected that I'd come home to total wreckage.

Much to my disbelief our house stood tall and proud to survive a super typhoon. Everything else built around our house — our pig pen, our comfort room, our little storage area for dry woods — were all destroyed by the typhoon. But our house survived, although rainwater made its way inside our house and few things got rained on, it was no big deal to me.

Up until this point, I couldn't believe how our house survived. Our neighbors' houses suffered terrible damages, one got even destroyed up to the last wall and ceiling. People passing by would even look at our house and perhaps wonder why it's still there amidst what happened that night.

"I don't know," my answer every time someone asks.

There were speculations why our house survived but one thing's for sure, it was divine intervention. No matter how much I think about the possible and logical reasons why it's still standing, I'd end up questioning my rational thinking. There's no way it can survive given all the possible scenarios, but it did.

That morning following the night of the landfall, my entire family went back to our house and we started living life as normally as we could. I even bought ice cream and cooked potato products (similar to French fries) for our afternoon snacks. Sure, there was so much to clean, to restore and to do to make the house livable again, but it's something one people can do for a week and that's a miracle in itself.

It's Christmas in a few days and having a home to sleep at night, live with my family and spend the holidays is a gift I am so honored and humbled to receive this year. It could've been so much worst.

Christmas will be grand for everyone else in the world but here in my little hometown, a roof at night and complete family is the gold I personally wouldn't trade for anything at this point.

We are still struggling — no electricity and water in most parts, telcos are still down, drinking water is difficult to secure, clearing operations in major roads are still ongoing — but there is so much to be grateful for.

It's true that when things are taken away from you - you become more aware of what you have and gratefulness just flows as strongly as how Odette wrecked my hometown. Recovery is still a long way to go, but better days are ahead. My heart tells me: All is well, all is well.

EDIT:

Thank you everyone for your support. I didn't expect this. Majority of the payout of this post will be used to help my neighbors and my sister's neighbors in the mountain barangays (area) in Carcar City, my hometown.

Any tip, upvote will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!