This month, I am bound for the second leg of the Philippine Book Festival in Davao City. (I couldn’t go to the Manila leg because Sprout had to be hospitalized; I guess things really happen for a reason.)

Anyway, I just booked my flight.

And I’m freaking out.

For nearly 24 months, I haven’t been away from my daughter even for a night. I opted out of face-to-face meetings, benchmarking activities, and seminars that required me to leave Sprout. I brought her to Cavite for the awarding ceremonies of the National Competition on Storybook Writing. Since she still breastfeeds at night – and I love snuggling with her – I can’t bear not being there when she sleeps and wakes up.

(I’m also scared she might get fully weaned. I don’t think I’m ready.)

But this opportunity is once-in-a-lifetime, and I fought tooth and nail for the reason I am leaving. (It’s still confidential at this point, but when I come back from Davao, I’ll get to finally announce it.) I want to go.

I would definitely bring Sprout everywhere if I had unlimited money, but I don’t. So, here’s how I am preparing the three of us for this trip.

1. Insurance
2. Last Will and Testament
3. Accounts and Passwords
4. Preparing My Child
5. Plan to Have Fun

Insurance

I’m pretty sure nothing eventful will happen during my trip, but securing my insurance is still a top priority.

Getting insured is a must everytime we travel, especially since I am leaving my almost-two-year-old behind. Getting travel insurance doesn’t cost a lot, and you can get them even from Shopee or Gcash.

For some reason, I can’t include insurance for my flight along with my booking, so I needed to separately purchase PAL Travel Insurance from the merchant.

For only PhP 595.00, I am insured for 1.2 million pesos in case of death or permanent disability, among other benefits.

Last Will and Testament

Some people don’t like the idea of writing a last will and testament, but it is absolutely recommended, especially when you’re going away. (Learn from Cinderella’s father and Elsa’s and Anna’s parents, wreaking havoc over their kids’ lives.)

Full disclosure: I don’t have any real property to declare. Sorry, state. You don’t have anything to decide on.

Instead, my will is mostly going to contain my daughter’s guardianship. Of course, I have no doubt it’s going to be my husband.

Additionally, and this is something I had been planning since I was high school: I want to tell them what to do during my funeral.

Accounts and Passwords

I am also going to leave behind a record of all my email address and passwords for my husband. This is important for me since I want him to close my accounts on my behalf. He will also need to access however much (or little) money I have in my bank accounts before the state realizes I’d have died, so I need to leave my PINs as well.

Preparing My Child

My husband Francis made it his mission to prepare Sprout for my flight. He had a skit, based off this current social media trend in the Philippines, which he had Sprout memorize:

Us: Bakit malungkot ang baby ko? (Why is my baby sad?)

Sprout: Kasi (a)alis mama ko. (Because my mama is leaving.)

Us: Saan pupunta mama mo? (Where is your mama going?)

Sprout: Davao.

It’s funny to watch, but also heartbreaking. But although she probably doesn’t understand the meaning of what she’s saying, we’re hoping it will help her cope with me being gone.

I also tell her I’m leaving when we are cuddling. Although she tells me she doesn’t want me to (Hindi, sama ako!) and that she wants me to stay (Dito lang mama!), I hope she will not feel like I just left without telling her beforehand.

Additionally, I plan to leave a shirt to put on a pillow she can embrace while I am away.L

Lastly, because I am a melodramatic mama, I have just finished writing a love letter for my little girl.

Plan to Have Fun

With everything else done, it’s time to plan to have fun.

My mother-in-law said I shouldn’t think too much about my daughter during the trip, and so I plan to immerse myself in other things while in Davao.

Although I have been to Davao before and will not be going there as a tourist, the Davao leg of the PBF will be held during Kadayawan Festival. I might get to watch some of the events during the festivities.

Fortunately, I will spend Days 1 and 2 in a locked-in seminar. I probably won’t be going out a lot, since at night I will be working on my side hussles. On Day 3, my last day there, I will be at the PBF. And although I am not planning to buy so many books – because baggage allowance – I plan to enjoy it a lot and possibly meet other librarians from DepEd division offices from Visayas and Mindanao.

Here are what I’m going to do in the next few days:

• Plan what I will wear. I have been neglecting my fashion game since becoming a mother. This is an awesome opportunity for me to restart!
• Plan when to go, how to get to, and what to eat at The Vegan Dinosaur. I have always wanted to try this Davao-based all-vegan restaurant, and I finally have the chance. I want to restart veganism, and this can be the push that I need.