With lockdowns and the quiet home quarantine life as my new reality, I treasure more and more deeply what was “normal” during our pre-pandemic life.
For now, many of life’s pleasures are simply beyond our reach—coffee meetings, happy hours, bonding with friends over a great meal, plant shopping, weekend escapades, fashion events, art fairs and inspiring travel adventures. All of these are relegated to memory and consigned to distant dreams.
It’s funny how, with every year that passed, I used to feel that life was getting more hectic. 2019 was almost frenetic and I often longed for extra time to do everything I hoped to accomplish.
As I reflect on all that has been and all that life has become because of COVID-19, I realize what an incredible privilege it was to have lived so fully all these years, and, more than ever, I am extremely grateful and humbled by the countless blessings that I sometimes took for granted.
I look forward to the time we can again step freely out into the world. Meanwhile, the treasure chest of vivid memories that flood my mind should be enough to keep my heart full.
Backstage at “Hamilton,” I and Susan Joven with Rachel Ann Go
Meeting up with dear friend Clara Weatherall who was based in Manila in the ’80s
With a newly declared second lockdown in London, I can’t help but reminisce about one of my happy memories from 2019: a whirlwind trip to London with the indefatigable tita Virgie Ramos (VSR, she is called by many) and Susan Joven. From the spectacular Dior retrospective at the V&A, the fabulous West End rap musical Hamilton (starring our very own Rachel Ann Go) to amazing breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and everything in between, I never tire reimagining and reliving every precious moment.
I look forward to the time London beckons us back safely— “Welcome back.”
