New kind of Holy Week

I still remember how I was so bummed last year that I wouldn't be on my yearly tradition to be in Bohol for the Holy Week deployment. It somehow left me with a question on with what to do considering that the long weekend will leave me at home, stranded with my pets and my family. I can vividly recall how boring that was and that reflection inside a humid abode made it very difficult.

This year, despite the presence of the threat of the virus, we are planning to go on a trip to the north of Cebu. Dubbed as "little Boracay", we will be visiting Bantayan Island on Holy Week. It has always been famous for the festivity it offers while the whole world is trying to figure out their sins and make up for them. Bantayan gives you more than that, there's overflowing food and cheer, and the pristine white sand beach only makes it all very exciting.

I am excited too, no doubt. But I can't also help but wonder, how different will it be from the previous times when we were in Bantayan. Of course, we can't see as many people as there were before and the coming in will be quite a hassle. The local government unit has issued as a QR code to make sure our trip is legitimate and not some spur-of-the moment getaway. It could be better than nothing.

While I will be whisked away to enjoy tranquility by the beach, I also can't help but think about my family in Quezon City. They are part of the NCR plus bubble where they are under Enhanced Community Quarantine, the strictest protocols in the hopes of preventing more transmissions of the virus. When we thought that it couldn't get worse, history has just repeated itself. It is like we are back to square one and all the efforts have gone to waste.

My aunt has already booked a ticket to visit Cebu by first week of June. I don't know how that is going to turn out now with these protocols in place. Are we going in for a two-year dive in this pandemic? When we are supposed to learn how to live with the virus, others are being complacent and that is just sad. All those reminders and public service announcements are going to waste.

It will be a new kind of a trip for me, perhaps, I might even change my mind on going on board this already planned trip. But I'm full of jitters jumping into the new normal as risks might still be also present. Maybe I'd find time to reflect about the past year and ask for forgiveness for everything I have done wrong. Or maybe just celebrate Easter without finding Easter eggs. On any note, it will be a different type of Holy Week for me and for us all as well. I guess it may be best to stay indoors.