Will You Still Complain About Life? | Unwinding at SM Seaside

Happy Wednesday Hivers!

Last week until the present has been a tough time for the family. My sister-in-law's 81-year-old mother was hospitalized and placed in the ICU. Although she was not my mother, she treated me and my siblings like her own. Because of the kindness she has shown us, my siblings and I are close to her.

A few days ago, my niece and I paid her a visit at the hospital. However, since only one person is allowed in the ICU room, no one from the family accompanied me.

The loud cries of patients due to excruciating pain, the rushed movements of doctors and nurses to revive patients, and the profound sadness in the eyes of family members were painful things I witnessed while visiting her in the ICU. It was a truly depressing sight.

Feeling psychologically exhausted and not wanting to stay at home as it made us more depressed, we decided to visit a place where we could enjoy nature. However, since the city we are in lacks wonderful beaches or expansive parks, we chose to go to SM Seaside, which has an exceptional park.

Actually, SM Seaside is just a 15-minute bus ride from our house. However, I rarely visit the mall as I am not fond of large crowds, which really make me sick. Since we visited on a weekday, the mall was not crowded yet, especially the park. There were only a few people roaming around, most of whom were college students.

We were grateful for the gloomy weather, which allowed us to savor our time at the park. We strolled around, engaging in conversations about random things.

While strolling around, I also took photos of the new establishments that have been erected around the mall, such as Oceanpark, Nustar Resort and Casino, and soon, the arena will be rising as well.

What I like about this mall is its exceptional park. It is wide and full of green foliage. I mostly visited here at night after work when I was still working in Lapu-Lapu City. The park is also wonderful at night due to the LED lights of the fountains and the nearby establishments. You can sit or lie down on the synthetic Bermuda grass while stargazing with friends. However, for me, I appreciate its beauty more during the daytime when I can see the mountain ranges in the distance, the newly built bridge (CCLEX), the horizon and the endless sea, the blue sky, and the trees in the park.

We savored the moment, trying to laugh and pretending that everything was okay because we both knew that after a few hours, we would be thinking again about the challenges our family is currently facing. At least for a short while, we were able to forget the painful reality that someone in the family is very sick. We were able to breathe and feel the cold breeze before facing another depressing part of our lives.

I am hypocrite if I would say that I never complain about my personal life struggle. But seeing those patients at the ICU room made me realize that as much as possible I wont waste my time complaining about life because there were some people who were fighting for theirs.

For those who are physically healthy, we are blessed as we are still able to stroll around to our preferred places, eat to our favorite foods, sing to our favorite songs, drink to our favorite beverages, hug to people close to our hearts, and see the majestic creations of God.

Sometimes we failed to appreciate simple and free things in life and we forgot to value those things however, those things are too valuable to people who are in the hospital beds fighting for their life. May I ask you a question. Will you still complain about life?

Thank you for reading and see you on my next blog. Cheers!

---

Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.

---