Hello Hivers!

It was a slow Wednesday in Surigao City, and I had just finished the usual early chores—sweeping, dishes, a quick rinse of the front yard before the sun started being extra.. Kevin had the day off, and Xansus was unusually calm (not jumping off furniture yet), so we figured... why not take a little trip?

We are heading to Bohol, to visit an old friend we hadn’t seen in a while…
No big plans, just a simple catch-up. I honestly wasn’t expecting anything special.
When we arrived we walked into her house—and bam. My eyes went straight to the corner of the room where this massive glass aquarium sat, glowing in the natural light like some kind of underwater museum. 😲

The Aquarium That Stopped Me

I kid you not,, I froze. The aquarium was long and clear, framed perfectly by the window light. Inside were lush green plants waving slowly, some driftwood stacked like a mini forest, and little bubbles rising from the filter like soda fizz. It was the kind of setup you see in YouTube videos and say, “Goals.”
Xansus ran straight to it, his face pressed to the glass like he was meeting Nemo IRL. Kevin just stood behind me and went, “Now that’s what you call relaxing.” And ikr??
There were all colorful fish inside, but one chubby little guy stood out—round body, bright orange, and those huge bulging eyes that made it look like it had seen something deeply shocking. 😂
Xansus giggled and shouted, “Mamaaaa! It’s looking at me!” And it really was. It followed our fingers around like it wanted to play. That fish had personality, I swear.

🦞 Surprise, Lobster Sighting

Then out of nowhere, Kevin pointed at something moving slowly under the plants. And omg—it was a lobster. Not one of those giant ones from seafood restaurants, but a bright orange cutie that looked like it was on a mission.
It crawled slowly over the gravel, moved some leaves around, then backed into a little cave like, “Don’t mind me, just doing lobster things.” 😂
I’d never seen a lobster in an aquarium before, and lowkey? It was the coolest part. Xansus kept tapping the glass and whispering “crab” (we’re working on marine animal IDs lol).
Our friend said maintaining it all wasn’t easy. You have to trim plants, clean the glass, check filters—sometimes daily. But she said it gives her peace. Like therapy, but with fins and tiny claws. And tbh, I totally felt that.

Home Tank Talk

I told her we also have a small aquarium back home. Ours is nothing fancy just a couple of guppies and one stubborn snail who refuses to move in public. 😂 But it’s ours. Xansus helps feed them every morning and always says, “Mama, fishie time!”
It’s become a small, sweet part of our routine. No matter how busy the day gets, there’s this tiny calm corner in the house that reminds us to slow down…

Before We Left...

Before we left, we took a few pictures of the tank—because how could we not? Xansus even tried to pose with the funny fish like they were besties.
On the way home, he said, “Mama, I wanna draw the big fish with the silly eyes.” And I’m holding him to that. I want to see that fish in crayon glory.

💙 A Simple Day Turned Special

What started as a casual visit turned into this beautiful, calming little escape. We didn’t do anything big, didn’t spend anything fancy, just standing in front of that aquarium, with my son and husband…

It reminded me that sometimes, peace hides in the quiet things—in a corner of someone’s home, in the slow dance of plants underwater, in the laughter of a kid pressed against glass…
So yeah. That was our Wednesday. Nothing loud, but something lovely. And I lowkey can’t stop thinking about getting more fish. 😅

Note: All photos are mine and edited in Canva.