Our Big Move to South

This is basically my blog entry to fix in my blog readers' minds that my set up is here in the south side of Luzon. Specifically Tagaytay. And soon enough, in Nuvali City (the Green City of Ayala) in Laguna. 

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I was living and breathing in a concrete jungle from the time my son was born until when he was eight years old. Working some floors up in a building in Makati and living some floors up in an apartment in Quezon City. We squeezed in time for parks, particularly Legaspi Park, whenever we can. Luckily for us, at that time we had a condo unit, again, some floors up in a building along Carlos Palanca, Makati.

Let me just clear things by saying that I am forever grateful to my generous in-laws who had lovingly provided us a safe roof over our heads for eight years (they own the apartment), but my then frail son would often get sick due to traveling from house to school via smoky Quezon City traffic. Urban decay, that's what it is. The city is just too congested, too chaotic, and it is getting shabbier and shabbier. Ateneo de Manila High School even released a statement of its intentions to move somewhere greener.

We found a school that we fell in love with and this was where he went for his first two years of his elementary life. It was quaint, cozy and over all lovely. It had a huge garden and a tree which is a very precious and rare thing in schools in Metro Manila. However, the city outside the school's gate is inevitably decaying.

Life took a sweet turn around 2009. The company I was working for was supposed to merge with another and my position became too expensive and redundant for them so I was fired. It was the Universe's way of telling me I need to stop and do things differently. And by different, I mean allowing my parents to finally help me all the way. Blessing, blessing, blessing.

I gave in to my parents' offer of hiring me and helping me with my daily needs after years of declining. After all, the idea of living in a calmer and greener place was too sweet to say no again. It was also time for me to learn the ropes of our family business anyway, so things fell into place.


THE BIG MOVE

After eight excruciating but life-altering years trying to run my own household in the city, I am now living again with my parents in the cool and breezy Tagaytay. Which is really good for my son who honestly has lung issues. We are now surrounded by trees, rare birds, bright and colorful flowers, and relatively fresh clean air.

This is a blessing for my son than for me. He needed this healthy environment.

My son is now studying in a school where he runs free on a vast  garden, BAREFOOT. He climbs trees, he jumps on puddles. He meets and observes beetles, worms, and kittens up close through first-hand exploration. On weekends and summers, he rides his bike for hours. He has taken fishing as one of his hobbies, too.

Before, his fave food were tocino and hotdogs. Now it's egg-pie, banana cake, and soy milk. The move really made a huge difference. When I was working as a robot in an advertising agency in Makati, we rarely had the time to bond. Now, I go to his school more often than required, I assist him in almost all the things he does, we have spontaneous dates, we have hours to spare just talking. I don't want to have a full-day job in the city ever again.

Here is my son enjoying the mud pit during their Michealmas Challenge.

Here is my son (in black cap) planting vegetables with his classmates in a nearby farm.

He sees the Taal Lake and Taal Volcano on a daily basis, when he is in school he has Mt. Makiling as backdrop. The car windows can be down to and fro. These things are important. It does a lot of good emotionally, spiritually, and physically.

Our big move to the south is definitely one of the best blessings we ever got from Universe.


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