It’s been a busy week. My husband and I were among those who were stranded on the streets last Sept 26 because of the floods brought about by typhoon Ondoy. We came from the Jomar Hilario's workshop, which was cancelled before lunch time because the mall, where the seminar was conducted, had to close down. Luckily for us, everything happened "just at the right time".
That morning, we didn't park on the slot where we used park our vehicle. It was a convenient location because that slot was near the mall and that meant we only had to walk a few distance to reach our venue. By some stroke of luck, we arrived a little early on that day and i asked my husband to go around the parking area first so we can kill some time while waiting for the mall to open. I was quite unhappy when he chose to park farther from the usual but he said it was okay. A little walk won’t do us any harm anyway. When we were sent home before lunch time and went back to get our car, we were shocked to find that those vehicles who parked on our “usual” location were already filled with flood water up to their windows. Our car was parked safer and we were able to get it out of the floodwater just in time.
Going back home was no easy decision either. We left our 2-year old baby at home and all we wanted was to get back and find her safe. But the flooded roads, the heavy rainfall, stormy winds and the crowded streets made everything so difficult. But we went ahead. Several times, when we became intimidated by the flood and the traffic, we stopped --- to rest, to observe, to listen to the news, to plan what to do next. We were just a small car anyway. We couldn’t risk charging ahead only to get stuck in the middle and waste the opportunity of being able to get back home. At some point, I found myself on the verge of tears. All the news we’re hearing on the radio were not so promising. In fact, one need not listen to the news at all --- we only need to look around to see that we’re into a great challenge!
But we wanted to go back home. We wanted the comfort and safety of our home --- with our daughter. With that in mind, we dared to cross floodwaters and muddy, slippery streets. When there were obstacles ahead, we were lucky to have some people point us to new directions and alternate routes. We passed by places we have never been to. It didn’t matter if the road was not familiar to us. We knew it will take us closer to home. We had to rely on the kindness of people whom we didn’t know to give us the right directions. We had to take their word that it was the right path.
Sure, even when we followed their directions to the letter, there were still obstacles. It seemed that floods, and rain and traffic were everywhere ---- and I mean everywhere! At one point, we were confronted with a flood – only buses and big vehicles could cross. All the cars stopped. Drivers went out of their vehicles to observe. Some even had to measure the depth of the water to help them decide if they should go ahead and cross. We were among those who stood by. It seemed like hours. Should we cross? Could we? There were several cars behind us who dared. Probably they got tired of waiting and just had to see for themselves. They were able to cross! For all of us who stayed behind, I knew that the same thing was running through our heads--- “Can we also do that?”. I heard others urging each other “if that car was able to cross, that means we can too!”. But guess what? That was just it. Nobody made a move. Everyone was waiting. Waiting for another proof? Finally, there was a much smaller car that came from the long line of traffic. The driver stopped in front of the flood, made a sign of the cross, took a deep breath, prepared his accelerator for the dive, and slowly made his way to the flood. That was my husband’s wake up call. He boarded the car and told me “we can do this mommy”. I think I stopped breathing for a few minutes while we were braving that floodwater. The car didn’t feel like a car anymore. I was like riding on a boat! I couldn’t close my eyes. We were laughing nervously, encouraging each other, singing our favorite gospel song….. And then, the tears couldn’t help but fall when it was finally over. The scary flood was behind us. We made it. There were just a few cars that followed our suit. I know we left a lot of drivers out there still undecided and needed more time to make up their minds. Probably they were not at all in a hurry to get to their destination…. they can afford to take their time.
I wanted to think and believe that was the last challenge, but it was not. We made several detours again, faced more floods. But we were a little wiser. A few more floods can no longer intimidate us easily. We knew we were able to overcome “bigger ones” back there. And after almost 12 hours on the road, we were safely home.
We couldn’t help but be thankful for what we have gone through. We are blessed. We are safe. We learned a lot of lessons out there. And I have to admit it’s not just lessons about floods and typhoons. It’s more than that. It’s more about life. It’s more about what we want in this life. And what we are willing to go through just to get that!
With just a few hours left, this 10-day challenge is about to end. Will we meet the challenge? I hope so. Just like the feeling of wanting to get back home, I will keep hoping and continue working up to the last minute. This kept me awake for most nights in the past 10 days. Come to think of it, the last 10 days (or 12 days, because we were shut down for 2 days) were like braving the typhoon as well. All of us had the desire within us. I am sure that for most of us, we had our moments of indecision and realization. During the challenge, we had to rely on Trace and in each other for directions. We were led to do unconventional things to try and find out for ourselves which will work best. We had to learn to trust the directions and instructions of some unknown people, knowing in our hearts that they mean well and would want us all to succeed. Along the way, there seemed like insurmountable challenges. Another glance and it will surprise all of us that a 16-year old kid with a big, big heart could stir up that passion within us. Remember that small car that gave my husband the wake up call? We learned from that small car. That led us to dare cross the flood. Red is like that (how’s that Red? Can you imagine yourself now in Mr. Bean’s car? ). And we have to thank him for that. My hat’s off to you Red!
When we got back home last Saturday, the challenge did not end. The “much bigger challenge” was all over the news, in the radio and in the television. We were lucky to get back home safely --- but the others do not even have a home to go back to. That’s where the real challenge starts. Like, where do we go from thereon? Do we turn our backs and resume our normal life? Or do we brace ourselves to face the bigger challenge of helping each other make a new start? If we meet the challenge as it ends today, we will undoubtedly be very, very happy. But if we do not, let’s still be proud of ourselves. We did our best there (right guys?). And Trace, as usual, taught us valuable lessons along the way. Ones that were never really taught in the school. I thank you Trace for your unending desire to help each one of us. You stirred up the passion and that’s what matters. For someone like me, reaching this 10th day is not the end of it all. I had a nice time going through those 10 days. It was rough, it was unfamiliar and everything new. We were helping each other reach the goal because we all wanted the same thing. I was not competing with anyone. I was competing with myself. I pushed myself beyond the limits and I will never ever regret doing that. But of course, for a while I will be sad because I will not get what I initially wanted (the CDs, the add-on prizes and mentoring!)…… but then, I will have to go back to what I said when I started writing this --- that I have to be thankful for the things that happen and believe that they do happen “just at the right time”. And to end that, let me add that they also do happen “for the right reasons”. Now I wouldn’t elaborate on that one. I still have to try and invite more people to this site…….
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"
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