CHANGE IS THE ONLY PERMANENT THING IN THIS LIFE. How true, indeed!
In the early eighties, we were already pretty settled in our hometown, having built our home and sent the first two children to school. I was happy in my job as District Guidance Coordinator/ Guidance Counselor. I've started a small business with my friend, Naty. It was doing good, too.
When my husband's former boss learned that he was planning to come home for good upon completion of his fifth year with Aramco, the latter readily made an offer which Dad found so hard to refuse. It jived well with his desire to be with our children during their critical growth years. He didn't want to miss the joy of co-raising them with me, and he dreaded being an absentee father to them. His decision to accept the Philphos job, meant that we had to transfer residence to Leyte, and leave my parents, siblings, friends, job and house in our hometown. I cried a river when we left home and when we finally boarded our flight to Tacloban on September 20, 1983.
25 years! We've been here for the last 25 years! The original plan was to stay here for a year or so only. We found the place so ideal for raising our kids. LIDE (Leyte Industrial Development Estate) has the magic of making one stay for as long as possible. Good and friendly neighbors, lush greenery, nature at its best, a chapel within a short walking distance from our house, very good school ( De la Salle supervised), beautiful homes, hospitals, an airstrip and FREE amenities: electricity, water, landline phones, transportation, gasoline allowance, recreational facilities - huge swimming pool, tennis, badminton and basketball courts, golf driving range, shooting range, bowling alley, clubhouse, picnic grounds, beach houses, playground, park, community library, etc. etc.
We've established friendship and close relationship with almost everyone here, including the people living outside this industrial estate. We have so many kumares, kumpares, inaanaks, mga suki, at mga apo sa mga inaanak. It would be hard to find a new manicurist, a new reflexologist, a new beautician, and new meat, fish , fruit and vegetable tinderas who are as efficient and as honest as the ones that I have now.
We are supposed to stay here until 2010, but circumstances might shorten that period to a few months. At our age, we've become less adventurous and would rather maintain status quo in every aspect of our life. Besides, leaving this place won't be that easy. Life here is like being in a cocoon - so serene, so secured, so happy.
When we left Orion for Leyte, "I cried a river." Siguro, when we leave Leyte for another place, " I will cry an ocean(Pacific Ocean pa)." Huhuhu!
