Quarantine living and COVID19 has offered many of us the opportunity to shift our perspective, the ability to start anew, and the gift of reassessing and revaluating what priorities are paramount, as we navigate this new reality.

Life-changing events usually unfold that way. They create new opportunities for growth, foster new skills, enable different pathways to creativity, but produce even more opportunities to learn about ourselves and others in these uncertain times.

While the difficulties and challenges that have presented themselves during the longest lockdown experienced by any country world-wide, Filipinos, have yet again proven our resiliency in moving forward.

Even more so, the Filipino parent who has pivoted… 

As parents, we know that we must shift and adjust on the fly, often taking into consideration the effects of every decision we make on our children, their future, and their development.

I am sure you’ve heard the saying, that if you want something done, ask a busy mom (or dad)?

Well, these modern parents have shown how the ability to shift perspective in times of crisis has provided new opportunities for them to think outside the box and maybe even supplement the lost income of industries that have been put on hold.

From the ability to provide alternative income to offering a service that’s now in demand, or creating a learning opportunity for others because there is suddenly more time to focus on different ways to give back, the deeper sense of awareness, and altruistic undercurrent are present in many parents’ daily lives. 

21 Extra Goodness

Mom on a mission, Annie Ico Tingzon, decided that this season was the perfect time for her to invest in her child’s future and the special needs community from which her daughter gave her her membership card. 

With the newfound gift of time, Annie saw that the constant one on one attention she was able to give her almost 3-year-old daughter Marian, resulted in a significant period of growth, development, and hitting milestones. Marian has Down Syndrome and is the inspiration behind her mother’s Instagram account, 21 Extra Goodness.

Deciding that she needed to share the importance of early intervention with other parents of children with exceptionalities, she teamed up with Dr. Francis Dimalanta of A Child’s DREAM Foundation and Mary Ann Morales and Avry Umali of ConnectED Kids, to offer a wealth of information and guidance to parents. This webinar will offer those who register, the opportunity to learn more about traditional and alternative therapies  that are a vital component to raising a child with different abilities in helping them achieve and meet major milestones.

The @21ExtraGoodness Early Intervention During COVID19 Webinar that will take place over three weekends in October, and will cater to parents who have just been handed a new diagnosis. Experts in the special needs community will be sharing the benefits of traditional and alternative therapies on development, growth, and milestones.

Candishhh Bakes

This stay at home momma turned focaccia baker has always journaled and shared her parenting stories, through her website. But when we all settled into quarantine living Didi realized she had so much more time on her hands than she was used to.

Inspired by a stash of frozen rosemary, that she would usually save for her husband’s steaks, she went out on a whim and bought yeast and flour to experiment with focaccia making. Admittedly, she said the process was a little bit of trial and error, until her angel “Chef E,” sent her a recipe with which she was pleasantly surprised by the pillowy soft outcome.

Considered blessed, to be able to share through @candishhhbakes, she has contributed to the greater good in small and endearing ways. Offering kits to support individuals who have been displaced from the events industry, she has committed to helping when she can, both in her sphere of influence and also reaching beyond her immediate circle, when the opportunity presents itself.  

Art for Good

Ging Domingo-Santos has always had an affinity for beauty, art, and function. I met Ging years ago, through blogging and crafting, and have followed her journey in her mindful parenting, kitchen building, and keeping home in a minimalist way. She is generous with both her ideas and her artwork.

Early in the quarantine period, she rediscovered her love of watercolor portraits and started sharing it with friends and family who enjoyed her creations that were submitted in exchange for a good deed or promise of kindness. 

She shares “I wasn’t keen on asking for payment for the artwork at first, during my “practice” period, I felt that paying it forward, for the promise of an act of kindness, a good deed, or a pledge, alleviated my fears of being judged, initially.”

But then the list of clients who wanted their portraits painted became quite extensive, and Ging saw the opportunity to take kindness and generosity to another level. As she became more confident in her craft, her outlet for creativity evolved into a fundraising project called @artforgoodph. 

Ging and her friends raised over two hundred thousand in just less than six weeks through her watercolor art, and all of the proceeds went to helping the late, Dr. Kharen Senen’s, fight with COVID19.

Effiengood

Makeup Artist to the stars, Effie Go has always enjoyed her time in the kitchen even before the quarantine. I have enjoyed quite a few of her bottled treats and shared them with others who enjoy snacking and quick meal fixes just as much as I do.

The opportunity to spend more time in the kitchen has given this skilled make-up artist, who always makes ME feel beautiful, the opportunity to turn her passion for good food into a small business that melds a multitude of flavors and cultures for her very well-known customers to partake of. 

@Effiengood already has a following of celebrities who enjoy her fare and has expanded to provide more than her Shrimp Cacio e Pepe. With homemade pasta, garlic French baguettes, casseroles, and smoked meats and sausages, this makeup artist has been able to supplement her income, while staying safely at home with her two little ones and making tummies all over the metro happy.

A Slice of Life

Returning to food photography was a natural shift for events photographer Noel Salazar and his wife Rae, who is a make-up artist. Enhanced Community Quarantine “gave birth” to a Slice of Life because this husband and wife team saw the food trends of Sushi Bake, and Ube Pandesal early on. 

As the events industry was put on pause, Noel and Rae seized the work from home opportunity, to shift the service they provide to creating upscale visuals for small business owners to up their bottom lines. @SliceofLifeMNL achieves plus points for safety, health, and wellness, as clients can avail of their services from the comfort of their home kitchens. 

Shooting the products of their clients together, with their toddler in tow may present daily challenges, but this endeavor has taken on new meaning for these young parents as they evolve with gratitude into our new realities of staying home.

40 and Fit

Marilen Faustino Montenegro has an eye for beauty in the home. Her quest for a healthier lifestyle grew out of her desire to make it a daily practice. By starting small with her concerns for health and wellness, she committed to simple 30-minute workouts and a new approach to nutrition which provided her the results she was looking for in a shortened time frame.

Coupled with her study of alternative medicine, and the results of her new nutritional approach she became even more inspired to study fitness training, taking full advantage of a holistic approach and her new work from home reality to onboard clients around the world to achieve their health and wellness goals.

@MarilenStyles firmly believes in the necessity to stay fit, boost immunity, and holistically care for ourselves. She settled into her new reality with a global job that she is managing from home and earning a passive income.

Ready Get Set Grow

Photographers, and husband-wife duo Sheila and Jorem Catilo realized they needed to pivot when the events industry was put on pause for them as well. As they spent more and more time at home together, with their three beautiful daughters, what was just an experiment in backyard farming, quickly became a home-based business on thinking and creating all things green.

Turning their backyard into a haven for any “plantita and plantito,” wasn’t easy for @readygetsetgrow, as pests and unpredictable weather kept affecting their combined desire to be productive during the quarantine. All of these uncontrollable factors affected their yield. Eventually, the trial and error of this process led to the @thegaragefarmer tweaking his mini hydroponic farm, to accommodate higher yields for the friends and family who quickly began placing orders for.

As Jorem grew a variety of greens for salad lovers to rejoice in, Sheila took the opportunity to learn more about her indoor plants and how to care for them. They have taken their love of sharing what they do, to all the plantitas and plantitos with the bonus of providing for their own family in a way that brings healthy food to the table for others with little ones as well.

When asked what this quarantine period and the opportunities that the time at home has presented for them as a couple, Sheila shared “This season has definitely taught us a lot about slowing down. We have learned that good things take time and that we need to allow nature to take its course, especially now, that we are working with plants!”

They find that they are excited to see new leaves and growth and of course, means they are more willing to part with old ones. Calling on faith and remembering that pruning is also necessary for this growth, that commitment and consistency allows us to reap rewards, and that even if the process can be stressful, the mistakes learned along the way, allow all of us opportunities to find more streamlined ways of caring for our families, ourselves, and others to make the most of this very unique time.

As we all do our best to create memories for our children during these unprecedented times, pivot to provide, and fill our cups with what is meaningful and good, one thing is for sure. 

I have learned that parents are the most resourceful at taking what we are blessed with, creating something new, and finding the silver linings throughout the process. 

Indeed, new beginnings can come in all these shapes and forms, with these lessons providing wonderful opportunities for learning and ways to share and give back.