The Monday Blues Pushed Me Out of Bed and Into This View

Sometimes, we experience the Monday blues somewhere in the calendar on a random Monday morning. Some could not get out of their bed knowing they have a long day to do, some do not have any plan at all, and others don't see their days productive so they rot in bed. I sometimes get this illness too; in fact, I had it this morning, unfortunately. This will be a long week of paperworks and responsibilities. When I woke up earlier, I just wanted to sleep all day. But I always remind myself to always show up regardless of the situation I find myself in. By the end of the day, I have the capacity to make noble or terrible things, and I am accountable to make the decision. I know that Monday blues are as powerful as fever or sinusitis, but the difference is I can take medicine to ease the latter. I am just glad to have also found a medication for the former, which is to take a stroll in a place I want to go in the earliest of morning.

My family moved to this central area of our town in San Remigio, it means we are residing in between barangays scattered in the north. When we moved here, I often sat on the terrace for a sip of coffee or reading my book Ikigai. The first day we moved here, I suddenly saw an elevated slope with a road between the landscape far in front of the house, just miles from our main gate. I always see people there by sunrise and sunset, no in-between because you can burn yourself there by daytime. Visitors enjoy there and they flock the most by sunset, rarely for sunrise. I was always planning to visit it because I heard the sea can be seen from there, that's why a sunset is favorable to see. But life always keeps me busy and I don't have someone to go with me.

This morning, I remembered that I have always wanted to go to that area. So I grabbed my niece from her parents to entertain her through a stroll on that slope. And here is a little tour for you.

The road is just a straight one that connects from our gate to the road between the landscape on that slope. So the path is quite easy and smooth. As we started our walk, I saw this landscape on the side containing bushes and a variety of trees that stretch from me to farther woods. The trees are rich and green and perfectly stood beside each other after the weeds and bushes. Coconut trees, jackfruit, and mango trees are what I saw familiar to me, and I can't identify the rest. I also saw a little tower near them that connects electricity to the remote areas of this place.

On the other side of the road is this square containing the new building for the public market and a National Disaster Risk and Reduction Management team's ambulance and truck. They came from Valenzuela City to respond here when the 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck our hometown. That yellow building was a new one, a month old, successfully finished just for the earthquake to destroy it again. It is not obvious but on the inside, there are cracks, debris, and hanging metals caused by tremors appearing until now and that major earthquake.

As I walked farther, I saw this area filled with collapsed tents where the survivors temporarily sheltered. But when Typhoon Tino and Typhoon Uwan struck the north, they had no choice but to find other shelters on their own that can protect them from the danger of the successive typhoons. Folks left this place as if there was a collapse in civilization in this area or apocalypse. I wonder where they are now.

The tents stretch until the smart house area, or where the no-build zone affected families are residing, especially those who lived on the port of Hagnaya, where the land was reached by the seawater and is now uninhabitable. Aside from tents, smart houses are given to 56 families, and these ones are safe for typhoons so they did not evacuate to another place.

I saw this water tank facing the smart house ground. This is where people get water for washing clothes and dishes and bathing. I heard they at least have three containers scattered around the Bayanihan village and one is for drinking water.

This time I already saw the slope and all I had to do was to go up there to have a panoramic view of the tent city, the sea, and the Bayanihan village. I actually thought it would be a very long walk to ascend but the slope is just easy to walk through.

Before reaching the bottom start of the road I would use to go up, I saw this another road that will lead to another slope and poultry. But it looked eerie to me so I did not risk entering it. The sun was also penetrating my eyes. I couldn't even see properly until I reached the peak and turned my body away from the light.

Finally, I was at the bottom. It looks like a short, low slope because of the photo but it is a literal slope you can roll from the peak. The sun was gently bright and crawling to my skin but it just hurt my eyes so I had to walk with my head down. I saw this vegetation on the bottom side containing flowers and weeds. I guess the flower is daisy but in another species.

Hmmm, what do you think happened on that part? A soil erosion?

My niece was enjoying our stroll, look at that step, she was carrying a ball I bought for her so she won’t get bored in the area with me as I am not so playful with kids. Even to my nieces. But I do teach them important things and interact with them when I have to.

We slowly ascended to make sure we won't lose our breath but this little creature I was with just kept on running downward and upward as if she had all energy from the sun. LOL. My niece is just very cheerful and that time she was picking flowers and putting them on the side.

We ascended a little bit more but still I couldn't get the view I wanted.

This is the highest we could get and I love the view. The white houses on the view are the smart houses I said earlier and on the left side is the path we took during the stroll. The blue one on the horizon is the sea, containing the Lapyahan sa San Remigio and other famous white sand beaches of the town that is included on the longest shoreline of Cebu.

The cloud formation was perfect and stunning for a bright gentle day. I enjoyed sitting on the peak and watching the sky. Sometimes birds would appear in flock and sometimes some dogs roam around me.

While sitting, my niece posed in front of me carrying her ball like she is a famous volleyball player in the women category asking for a photograph?

I looked on the right side to enjoy more of this bit of nature. The trees in this area are rich but I noticed the ground, or the grasses, are in drought or not that green. Some parts contain healthy grasses but some only have soil and rocks on them. I imagined how beautiful this spot would be if grasses will grow completely and sprout beautiful flowers. I hope they will turn richer and healthier soon because a spot with greens creates a relaxing, therapeutic, and comfortable ambiance and interaction for the visitors. I guess this will be on summer where most of our vegetation in the province goes perfect and stunning.

On the left side, I saw an ongoing construction but still behind is a rich landscape and farm full of crops. I just can't get a good shot of the farm because the light won't cooperate in the camera. When I saw the half-finished facility, I guessed that part of my right side must be intentionally cleared of grass and vegetation because they will also build facilities or buildings there. I hope they won’t. Nature is very important around us. I hope the owner would let the greens grow and not build unnecessary things on the ground.

I stayed there for almost an hour, just sitting and enjoying the moment with the gentle sun and the wide sky above us. But when the sunlight started to shift from warm to hot, we went home immediately. And while walking back, I thought about how small moments like this—simple, unplanned, and honest—can lift even the heaviest Mondays. Maybe the week ahead will still be long and tiring, but at least I reminded myself that I can always choose to show up, breathe, and look for a bit of beauty along the way.