When you look at the news, you would see that the rage Mother Nature unleashed during the storm “Ondoy” was really scary. But if you are in the middle of it, and you can’t seem to know how you could protect your four kids from it, while watching the flood water rise, you would undoubtedly say it was downright horrifying.
I’ve always prided myself to be like those mothers that protect their kids at all cost. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a perfect mom, but I strive to be, I discipline my kids, but without any form of violence. I don’t believe in spanking, yelling or torture for them to follow me, do their chores or be nice. So when someone hurts them verbally or physically, I transform into what I call a super mom and attack anybody who has done so. But a mother can only do so much, it’s a different matter when it’s the environment is the aggressor. You’ll be reminded how tiny and defenseless you are in this big world.
The rain started to pour late Friday evening, when we woke up, it was still raining hard that by 7am the electricity dies. I didn’t think much about it, for in our province, whenever it rains hard; the electric company seems to take precautionary measures and shuts off the electric. Due to the location of the house, whenever the electric goes off, the water supply starts to slow down, so when the water did stop, I still didn’t think much of it. It had been a habit that every Saturday we have this late leisurely breakfast between me and the kids, which we had, we talked about things including how foul the weather was, but still I didn’t think much of it. By 10.30 am, the kids were bored and since the younger ones were fascinated with the rain, I let them play out in the rain, I thought to myself, just this once I’ll let them have a “rain shower”. Then I proceeded to video them. They were all shouting and laughing all through out, they were chasing each other with “tabos” and ‘baldes”. I was so caught up in their cute antics that I really didn’t look out to the streets.
I called them in after 20 minutes of playtime, what came next was a great shocker. At first I saw that the streets had water in them, I was so fascinated with the sight that I told the maids to change the clothes of the younger kids for me to keep on watching. It was okay at first but my fascination turned chilly when I notice that every 5 minutes the water seems to rise just about a foot high, I called my eldest and showed her the water rising, then I told the our houseboy to look at the main road and report to me what the main road looks like down the bend. When he came back, his shorts were muddy and wet and he reported that the water down the main road was up to thigh high and it seems that it was rising. I started to be concern, I’ve never been one to panic, but that day, a chill was creeping up my spine and couldn’t shake the feeling, instincts told me to get ready. I went this time to my cousin’s house which was also my neighbor and was aghast that they were starting to pack and was planning to evacuate. He told me that never in his lifetime living in this area had flood water came into his house, and by this time the water in his house was just below the knee.
Although, there wasn’t any flood water yet in my home, I started to instruct to pack a change of clothes for everyone, at the same time I had instructed everyone to put all the valuable items and appliances, including precious pictures and books to the tallest part of the house. In less than an hour, we were prepared to leave our home and go to my mother-in-law’s house, I deduced that since she had a second floor, we would be safe there no matter what. I told the boy to go ahead and bring the things to my in-laws house. But just in a few minutes, he came back to report that the water up ahead the bend was starting to rise and this time it was rushing in down the streets. His clothes were wet up to his waist now, and I have concluded it was better not to chance the roads, since he did say even he was having a hard time crossing the road, how much more a kid or someone holding a kid.
In less than an hour, I saw the water slowly rise steadily at first, and then I think before noon, I head this great big sound like a muted boom, and water came in a rush, it entered the house so fast that I thought to myself, this can’t be happening. We placed the kids up the furniture that was tall but still it was not high enough, we transferred them up the tall cabinets and this time the water couldn’t reach them, but the water was still rising, I started to look a way out just in case the water does still go up. I found an opening on the roof that went up the roof and had it ready, I asked the Lord to stop the water from rushing in, and it seems that He heard us, for the water stopped coming in.
They said that when you’re in danger, your life flashes before your eyes. I totally don’t believe that. Because at that particular moment, all I can think about was that I need to make sure my kids would be fine, I keep planning one step ahead, trying to out think what would come next. I was so afraid that more was coming, so I talked to the kids and told them to get ready; I told them what the plan was, and how we were suppose to do it. But even with the plan, I realized that something might go wrong, and securing the kids with plans was not enough.
God must have been watching us and made sure we were alright. But it showed me that I can’t protect my kids from everything. And I hate that feeling that I can’t always secure them. But on the other hand, I saw the strength of my two older daughters, how responsible they can be. They didn’t whine or cry but was planning along side with me. I also learned to value life and be gracious about everything around me, the smiling faces of my family, the rainbow, the chirping of the birds, even the noisy neighbors; it is really good to be alive!
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