I love, Oh so destructive Ondoy

What happened yesterday, September 26, 2009, was unexpected. At least for me. 10 AM: I roused myself from the dreamless, restful, delicious sleep I was having because I wanted to take advantage of my brother's absence so I can play in his PC (sidenote: I'll be kicked soon from my guild due to inactivity). Even from my one-eyed awake-d-ness, I did notice that the rain was extra heavy. I had 30 minutes with my game, when I felt my mother fussing in the background, then heard her shouting threats from upstairs, recalled a littany of yours truly's "crimes of Christmas past", mentioned her current medical condition and stressed my incapability to be a household help. She let all these out first before I deciphered the secret code: storm outside, gonna flood soon, need to transport all the valuables upstairs, move your lazy big ass (mothers have their own ways).

10:30 AM: I carried the following to higher ground (had help from mother where it's needed):

1) 4 CPUs

2) 4 18" CRT monitors

3) a sampayan-worth of clothes

4) 5 gallons of mineral water

5) 2 wood cabinet's full of stuff and stuffed toys

6) 1 5-seater narra sofa

7) 1 stove-top oven

8) 1 washing machine plus dryer

9) 1 30" flat screen tv

Did I mention that it was just my mother and me at home? Brother pig's at school and male cousin's at work. Our two hopes out there, somewhere. We were just finishing up downstairs when ankle-deep flood water came in.

Upstairs, just when I quoted "all's well that ends well", my mother had this crazy idea to abandon the house for fear of getting trapped inside. She was already feeling some chest constrictions/difficulty in breathing, from fatigue, stress, panic, during this time that I did not want to contribute more to it so I gave in. Plus, I'm still my mother's daughter, I believed her when she said the flood water "will rise above the level of everyone's roofs". 11:30 AM: Carrying a small bag, we waded into the water which was up to our knees, with no umbrella over our heads and all the while assuming the role of the braver, in-command and more dependable of us two. Our goal was just to get out of the subdivision. At the gates, we were already drenched, hope was stumped. It was like seeing our village as a basin waiting be filled with water up to the brim. Water was rushing in, in strong current. We turned our backs and sought shelter nearby.
7:45 PM Mama and I started the trek back home. From the area we were at water was already gone from the street but by the time we reached the front of our house, half of my body was already submerged in icky, creamy goodness.
A day after, I'd seen on tv the tragedy Ondoy brought and it pricked my heart. Quoting another Shakespeare:
When sorrows come, they come not single spies
But in battalions
Hamlet: Act 4, Scene 5

I am sorry for those who had it worse. But, I am glad I experienced "ang hagupit ni Ondoy". Happy that I had it with my mama. We could have skipped that adventure outside the comfort of our home and just stayed in because flood water, apparently, cannot rise to that height (over the roof) in our area. It reconciled this rift between us. And with my brother. I love her more now. I appreciate her more. I'll miss her more too when she's already gone. My superhero of a mother.

Loves her Ma,
Jo