One of the hardest things that I have discovered after leaving my husband was the fact that I was also leaving the image I had become accustomed to. I am not talking about the ritzy house and vehicle I used to drive, but the fact that economically, everything had changed. Not only that the economy in the Philippines had become harder to the regaular Juans and Pedros, but the daily increase of the price of daily commodities is hitting me along with the rest so hard I cannot keep tabs of the price of rice and oil everyday. I have also sworn off watching the news but instead opted for RSS feeds directly from Inquirer, and thats it.

I cannot believe how it is now for the rest, especially those living in the urban areas. Here where I’m at, we can still buy fish at P60 a kilo (fresh catch, and straight from the fishermen). Vegetables are still planted in small patches on land and readily shared to neighbors. Imagine me asking for a few sprigs of alugbati or malunggay..

I had tried to shield my children from the full effect of the economic changes my family is experiencing after I decided to leave. It was difficult because our shopping behavior had change and I am glad my children are not used to constant shopping but they have noticed indeed that we have stopped dining out. We used to frequent Outback, Italianni’s and Starbucks. No designer’s coffee and chocolate drinks for me and the children. But I have tried to maintain the food we are used to eating. No downgrades there, except for the decrease in bacon, hotdogs and pancakes each morning.

I can only imagine how other women like me are managing their lives. I wanted to work right away, but the problem is that if I do, I would need to entrust my babies to maids and other relatives. Having raised my children without much hired help, I simply am having trouble justifying getting paid for something like P15,000 for a month over not seeing your children nor overseeing their studies and preparing their meals. For now, the lease that I am getting for our house in the city is sufficient enough to get us through comfortably.

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