WITH a lot of time in their hands, people on lockdown have been pursuing their interests, developing new talents, and taking their hobbies to the next level.
Day after day, it is such a delight to see family and friends posting their delectable gourmet creations, thriving vegetable garden, fitness regimen, among others, on social media.
Whether they are effects from sheer boredom or out of plain necessity, it seemed like the community quarantine became a fascinating showcase for “Lockdown Got Talent”.
Beauty in a bayong
Lawyer Maria Theresa “Tetet” Teves-Castaños discovered that she had a gift for painting just nine months ago.
“I bought some artworks from a local artist and I thought, why not give it a go? So, I borrowed my daughter’s art supplies and just painted. My first artwork was an impression of tulip flowers. I liked what I made, so from then on, I painted eleven more on paper. Judge Virginia Europa saw my artworks on FB and prodded me to attend an art workshop,” Tetet recalled.
From there, the mom-of-three moved to painting on canvas and bayong bags. “I am now on my 65th piece, all through the help and guidance of my teacher/mentor, artist extraordinaire, Dadai Joaquin,” she expressed gratefully.
Tetet said the ECQ, in a way, is a blessing to her because she can paint, hours on end without thought of attending to any hearing or deadline.
Sparking joy
Tetet plans to pursue painting more, even after the quarantine, since it sparks joy. Finishing a piece gives her an immediate sense of accomplishment, which sadly, lawyering does not. “Artworks can take a day to make while cases reach months and sometimes, years to finish. There’s instant gratification in doing art,” she compared.
Another hidden talent that she discovered this ECQ was doing her family’s haircut. “My husband and kids’ hair were already looking like Ewoks so I cut their hair using kitchen shears. However, she clarifies that after EQC, she will leave this task to the stylist or the barber, for I know they will do a better job at it than me!” she laughed.
All you knead is love
Celebrating her son’s birthday during the quarantine became a creative outlet for mom-of-four Atty. Angela “Angging” Librado-Trinidad who works as a Labor Attache of the Embassy of the Philippines (Philippine Overseas Labor Office) based in Washington, D.C.
“When Covid-19 struck and our youngest pleaded, ‘Ma, please try your best in doing my cake’, I relented and finally baked one,” she said.
With the help of some of her baker-friends who gave Angging all the ideas and with her doctor-husband Coco’s steady hands, they lovingly rolled and shaped their son Kico’s fondant icing cake and decorated it with his favorite Ryan’s World Red Titan and Friends characters. Their son’s excited expression upon seeing the cake was priceless!
Healthy family cooking
While working quarantined at home, Angging and her husband have teamed up to bring as many freshly cooked and healthy meals to the family table every day.
Such a culinary routine proved to be more challenging for them since they had to thaw, cut, and mince every ingredient themselves. Thankfully, their kids have been trained early on to wash the dishes, clean and pack away.
“My specialties are my onion soup, callos, chili con carne, and all my keto pastries. The kids like my chocolate chip cookies and red velvet cupcake. But my husband stresses that he loves everything that I cook, probably for fear that I would turn in my resignation letter,” she joked.
Knack for homeschool
The lockdown also unleashed Angging’s gift for homeschooling her kids, something she can do now with her work-from-home arrangement.
“My homeschooling efforts are bearing fruits, I believe. We stuck with the schedule 80 percent of the time, and “Just Dance” became our common choice for PE. Most importantly, homeschooling made us revisit Philippine history,” she points out.
If there is something that is good about the “new normal’, it is the idea that she can listen to each and every idea that her kids bring up, and every joke laughed at as she sits across the table doing her work.
“I will not pretend that each day has been smooth-sailing and that there was not a single day that my kids and I would not argue, but I would not want to miss any single moment of it. So, I hope to “homeschool” them even after, and while they are enrolled in a traditional learning institution,” ended Angging.
E-mail the author at mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com. To view more photos, please visit http://momabouttowndavao.blogspot.com/.