A Morning Stroll: Grocery Runs and Family Time with Odyne

After eating breakfast, I decided to take Odyne for a walk outside our home. Our plan was to go to Dali Everyday Grocer in San Pablo and afterward stay for a bit at our in-laws' house while April was busy doing some house chores.

The sun finally showed its face to us. Over the past few days, we hadn't been able to go outside because isolated rainfall would happen frequently from morning until the afternoon. I readied her old bike, as we would be walking for more than 15 minutes to our destination. Sometimes, we walk without the bike, but for convenience, we just use it. My feet were still swollen at this time, and if Odyne asked to be carried, I wouldn’t have been able to do so.

After parking the bike, Odyne immediately ran toward the entrance of the store. She waited a little while I prepared the cart she would push. My list only included tissue paper, chicken, and some bread for snacks. Odyne was able to follow my instructions on what to take and then put them inside the basket. Usually, when we do our grocery shopping at this store, we let her roam around and ask her to get some items for us. That way, she can practice what she’s learning at the therapy center. We just supervise her to make sure she doesn’t break anything, especially fragile items, as Odyne tends to push the cart fast.

After buying the items that April advised us to get, we went to my in-laws’ house nearby (about a 5–10-minute walk from Dali) to pass the time.

Our plan was to stay until 9:00 AM or wait for some kids in the area for Odyne to play with. Unfortunately, there weren’t any kids available. Megan, her usual playmate, was still sleeping, so I just let Odyne run around the field. Tatay wasn’t around at the time because he was harvesting some paayap (cowpea) in another area, as someone had placed an order with him.

While she was running, I continued walking slowly around the steep paths to keep moving a bit.

When we were both tired, Odyne said she wanted to go back and said goodbye to her grandparents. She kissed them goodbye and started walking toward the bike, ready to head home.