As You Turn One

I hope that he remembers that he is loved every time he sees the artwork, which is how I feel when I look at mine which I placed right beside my computer so that I can look at it often. For those interested in supporting Nityalila’s #YakapSiargao initiative, please visit http://nityalila.com

04 January 2022

To our dearest Elio,

Happy first birthday to the family’s greatest pandemic blessing!

As you turn one today, I was reminded that I have yet to buy you a gift. We definitely have to mark this momentous occasion with something significant, something that you’ll (hopefully) appreciate when you get older.

We usually celebrate first birthdays with a huge party and lots of gifts. While it is unfortunate that we cannot do that this year as we are all sheltering in place, what we can celebrate is we (your household and ours) are all safe and healthy. This is already a huge blessing considering everything that’s been going on in the world the past couple of years.

We can celebrate that we have been quarantine bubble mates (although on and off) for the past year. We were able to give you hugs (even if you kept on resisting), your Ate Talia and Ate Erin were able to make you laugh even a little bit (yes, I was unsuccessful), and we even went to the beach together (and you still didn’t like me carrying you).

The rest of us may have been missing out on some of the more “normal” things that we’re used to but I hope that you, being a newbie in this big, currently very challenging, world, felt love from your quarantine bubble. The fact that we were able to enjoy physical contact even irregularly, at a time when social distancing is the norm, is a big enough gift for us.

And it is because of this that I thought of getting you this artwork for your big day.

Yakap (meaning embrace or hug), is an artwork by Nityalila Saulo. All of the sales proceeds for Yakap will go to local families in Siargao who experienced devastation during Typhoon Odette last month. Yes, a calamity on top of a pandemic. What are the odds, right?

The monetary value for this particular piece is under your name. As we celebrate you turning a year older, know that you also helped someone in need because your Tita Kaye didn’t buy you toys (haha).

Hopefully your mom or your dad will remember to open the back of this Yakap artwork in a few years and read to you this letter. Ask them about the pandemic years and I’m sure that they’ll have a lot of stories for you.

We’re currently experiencing another surge in positive cases as I write this so we’re physically apart again but get ready for big fat hugs from all of us when we invade your house, hopefully soon!