A Free Day in the City with a Relative/Friend

Hello, Hive Friends! I wish you all well today as you read my blog. As I mentioned last time, another friend invited us to have some strolls in the city. As we planned in our school to have a completion and graduation pictorial, I asked my wife to do the makeover of our learners. So my colleague, who is one of the grade 12 advisers, agreed that we would just purchase some items needed for the said activity.

Ma'am J told us that we'd go to SM City Cebu so that my wife could choose the needed items. She is my wife's relative in the mother side. She told us that we'd depart from Tabogon at seven in the morning. Our kids were very excited since they were also affected by our present situation. We bought some goods after the 50th birthday celebration of Sir Melvin for us to prepare ahead of time before going to the city. We slept at 7:30 in the evening so we could wake up early and prepare our breakfast.

My wife and I woke up at five in the morning since we needed to feed our chickens. After that, we prepared our breakfast, and at the same time, we alternately took a bath. Ioseph and Jehoia woke up and prepared themselves too. We ate our breakfast, and then we're ready to go. I messaged Ma'am J that we're ready and we'll just wait for her since they also prepared their dogs since they will be going with us to have a grooming moment at the Park Mall.

When Ma'm J messaged that their car was ready, we went to the roadside. We rode their newly bought car, which is one of my dream cars. Her mom was the one driving, and both of them were apologizing about the furs of their pets. Well, it was just fine. We also have dogs, but it's just that they're in a cage because we need to have a fence first in our area before I free them.

Along the way, we stopped at a part of Catmon Town because one of the dogs vomited. They need to clean it up before we continue our travels. When they finished, Ma'am J transferred to the back seat so that the dogs could have a large space and avoid vomiting. We observed moderate traffic in some towns. When we arrived at the back portion of the Pacific Mall, the sister of Ma'am J was already there. She went inside the car to help carry the dogs.

We arrived at SM City Cebu and got dropped off at the Traveler's Lounge. We then get inside the mall and have our lunch since it is already eleven in the morning and we don't want to join the large crowd at lunch time, which is at noon. We ate at Kenny Rogers Roasters. We had some high-protein meals. Our kids really enjoyed their experience since it's been a long time since we had our last mall stroll.

After we had our lunch, Ma'am J asked the kids if they wanted to have some toy rides outside the restaurant. But they refused and just told her that we don't have money. We did not expect them to answer it since we also asked them to enjoy playing at the mall. That was the time we talked with my wife, and they really knew what was happening to us. They never demanded anything. They just want to be with us, and they are okay with that.

We then went to the department store, where the makeup stalls are located. My wife started to choose the items. Many saleswomen assisted her in selecting the best items. While our kids enjoyed themselves playing around, looking in the mirror, and talking to Ma'am J., they talked about buying clothes for their end-of-school year rites. But my son answered again: We can't buy it because we don't have money.

Ma'am J then told me that we would buy some for the kids. She will be the one to pay for everything. Her purpose is to divert our attention since she knows how hard it is to suffer from a very big problem which brought me to the point of having a breakdown. My wife went to the cashier with Ma'am J. We were shocked by the whole amount. But I just told my wife that one day we'll just pay Ma'am J the whole amount since she used her credit card for paying it.

We then choose the clothes for the kids. Ma'am J brought Jehoia to the kids wear for girls, and when they went back, our daughter was holding a pink short, which she chose. After choosing their clothes, we went to the cashier for the payment.

After our time at the department store, we proceeded to the cyberzone to ask for the price of the iPhone 14. Our co-teacher asked Ma'am J to purchase it through a credit card. We ask for the prices and the available colors. They only have purple, so we waited for almost an hour for them to get the Starlight iPhone 14 from the other mall. When it arrived, we waited more than 2 hours since their POS was not functioning well.

At 4:30 p.m. It was successfully processed using the credit card. I told Ma'am J that I'd just deliver the phone the next day since we'd be meeting a friend in Danao City. We then went to the North Bus Terminal because Ma'am J and her mom would stay at their house in Lapu-Lapu City. Luckily, there was a Ceres bus waiting to leave at 5:00 p.m. We departed from the terminal at 5 o'clock.

The bus stopped at Catmon because the driver and the conductor would have dinner there. We also took the chance to feed our kids. My wife bought foods intended for us, and we ate them when we arrived home.

It was a tiring day, but full of happiness in our hearts. At least we experienced a free day. Away from work and others that caused us stress. And of course, we were treated well by a friend who shoulder our expenses just to give us some time for ourselves. Another way of telling us that there is always calmness after a storm. There is always a rainbow after a rain. We just need to trust the process. Maybe we can't understand now why we are experiencing this. Why were we treated badly by a person who depends on us during their trying times?

What's important right now are the people who really care for us. They don't want us to feel neglected and taken for granted. There are too many to mention. With gladness, I thank them all. I hope one day we can have our better days and return the favor they gave us. And maybe I just need to move forward, though painful, that the money was lost in the middle of our goodness. Be still and know that we are loved by Him. He will never abandon us.

Images were taken by me using my Samsung A73 and Realme 12 5G phones.