Quarantined Titos and Titas of Manila

Strictly speaking, a tito or tita is equivalent to an uncle or an aunt. But for Filipinos, who love to claim consanguinity with even the farthest relative, a tito or tita could mean a close family friend, or practically anyone, if you’re polite enough (or selling something).

But the word tita has evolved even further when followed by “of Manila” to roughly mean “ladies who lunch” or women of a certain age group who hang out to have leisurely meals.

And if you’re from Manila, and from this certain age group, you do wonder in this time of quarantine, what have all the titas of Manila been busy with? And what can you do when all you have is leisurely time?

At this point in time, many have entered the plantita stage, where women turn to the joys of gardening to fill all that time once used to hop from one restaurant to the next. Highlights of the day for these plantitas are finding the most beautiful white and gold pots and ordering  yet another ornamental plant to add to their collection.

Then, there are those that are in their platita stage. They begin collecting painted or patterned plates to make their homemade meals look even more amazing on their IG accounts. I myself am very tempted when I see these beautiful plates, space being the only thing that hinders me from heading to the nearest online store to get my shopping fix.

And finally, there is me. I am in my patchtita stage, where I hoard pain reliever patches to alleviate my sore back, legs, arms and everything else that hurts. Since the quarantine prevents me from getting my regular massages, I’ve had to resort to substitutes just to lesssen my body aches, even just for the night.

But wherever you get your sanity from these days is highly encouraged, be it in plates, plants or even patches.

Stay safe and sane, y’all!