It's only natural that this pandemic and the 200+ day lockdown that Metro Manila and other parts of the Philippines have been subject to has left me thinking a lot about our friends. A time of social distancing means that we don't get to see our friends in person anymore apart from maybe carefully arranged meetings while maintaining physical distancing and wearing several layers of personal protective equipment. And that isn't all that great an experience, especially when it comes to our circle of LGBT friends where hugs and other forms of somewhat more casual intimacy are normal ways to greet one another.
This pandemic has really taken a lot away from us.
And this month really has me thinking about Nico and Pamilya Egg, because yes, this is still a thing. In this period where we have been kept away from our friends, then all the more I miss particularly important friends like our Anak. My friendship with Nico is technically older than my relationship with Tobie because he was our number one supporter even before we got together. You should know how the story goes by now.
It's amazing on so many levels that we've remained friends this long. And beyond that, we've remained as a sort of family as well. And it's not like this has manifested in us hanging out all the time or even talking all that much in the pre-pandemic period. But there's no questions that we're a sort of LGBT family, a family of choice that supports one another but also has a healthy respect for everyone living their own lives.
In a recent conversation, Nico mentioned that he can't even imagine us not being in one another's lives. And that's an amazingly powerful statement when you think about it. We often talk about romantic relationships as being something that should last forever, which is totally great. But how often do you really consider a friendship with a similar level of permanence? At least for me, I've never really made that promise often (or lightly). Being a good friend is hard and takes a lot of work and not everyone is built for that.
But Anak has the right of it - I cannot even conceive of a possibility that we won't remain good friends. He's very important to me and Tobie and I really enjoy spoiling him with the occasional gift here and there because he always appreciates them wholeheartedly. I've had the privilege of being around as he's gone through many life milestones and has worked his way up the corporate ladder and actually advanced his career quite well over the years. I guess you can call me a proud parent in this regard! hahaha
In this time of uncertainty and fear over a disease that seems almost unstoppable, we need to hold on strongly to the people who are most dear to us. And as much as so many friends have come and gone in our lives, Nico has stuck around for us and so have we in turn. And I feel amazingly blessed that this is the case. It is a gift to have a friend stay around this long and it's equally precious to feel this genuinely strongly for a friend as well. And this lockdown has reminded me to be thankful and remind Nico of this as well.
11+ years and counting, Pamilya Egg is still going strong.
