Napuno ng lungkot at pamamaalam ang panibagong vlog ng mag-asawang LJ Moreno at Jimmy Alapag, na iniwan ang Pilipinas upang manirahan sa Estados Unidos.
“It’s been a strange six months, to say the least. With so many of us affected by this pandemic, I know it’s forced us as a family to kind of change course a little bit in terms of what our plans were as a family,” panimula ni Jimmy.
Ani ng atleta, ang mga pagbabago sa basketball sa Pilipinas dulot ng pandemya ang isa mga rason na nag-udyok sa kanila na US.
Kinonsedera din umano ng mag-asawa ang kalagayan ng ama ni Jimmy sa US, na pagbabahagi niya ay importante para sa kanila lalo pa’t matanda na ito.
“Going through everything this past few months, LJ and I talked about what will be the next step for our family — what was gonna be happening as far as the basketball landscape in Manila. Again with this pandemic, my dad just turned 82 this June. It was very important for us to be closer to family. We came to a decision to move back to the States for the meantime,” kwento niya.
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Ibinahagi naman ni LJ ang pinagdaanan nilang pagsubok kamakailan, na sa sa mga dahilan kung bakit naudlot ang kanilang pagplipat sa Estados.
“And if you’re wondering why we didn’t do that while we’re still in Manila, it was just — there’s so much going on. First, I got pregnant. Then we had a miscarriage. But we wanted to share with you guys that we did decide to leave. For those of you that know me, I’ve been very vocal that I didn’t really wanna move to the States — at least not yet,” kwento niya.
Pagpapatuloy pa niya: “We both love the Philippines. We started our family there. We met our eldest there.”
Hindi naman itinanggi ni Jimmy, na ang pagpunta niya sa Pilipinas upang simulan ang kanyang karera bilang isang basketball player, ang isa sa pinakamagandang desisyon na ginawa niya sa buhay niya.
“I know for me it’s a been such a growth in the last nineteen years. Thinking about my situation when I first came to Manila and just really being so young, naive about life. I think we’ve all been at that age where we just haven’t experienced life yet. It was the absolute, best decision I ever made to come to Manila, to back home and play. I’m so thankful,” pag-amin ni Jimmy.
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Ipinaliwanag din ni LJ ang dahilan kung bakit siya naging emosyonal at sinabing hindi ganoon kadali lalo pa’t walong taon silang nanirahan sa nasabing bahay.
“It’s actually our first morning here. That’s why still kinda emotional because I wasn’t able to let it all out yesterday just because ang dami pang kailangang gawin. I mean, we lived in our house for how long? Almost eight years. And then we had to say our goodbyes to our friends,” ani LJ.
Paglilinaw naman ng mag-asawa, hindi nila isinasara ang pinto sa posibilidad na bumalik sila sa Pilipinas sakaling mag-iba na ang sitwasyon sa Pilipinas.
“Just to make it clear, we’re not closing our doors. It’s just right now because of the current situation. This is the best thing to do for us. And we did really pray about it,” aniya.
Dagdag pa ni LJ, hindi siya sang-ayon sa plano ni Jimmy na lumipat nang Estados Unidos. Ngunit ipinagdasal umano niya nang maigi na maayos ang lahat.
“At first, when he asked me what I thought about the idea when the pandemic started, I was thinking like ‘Ano ka ba. Baka bored ka lang kung anu-ano iniisip mo. I was so against it. But then, I’ve been praying to God like when I do my quiet time. Okay God, just change my heart. Kayo na ang bahala,” kwento ni LJ.
Sa kung paano siya nagdesisyon na suportahan ang asawa niya sa plano nitong lumipat sa Estados Unidos, sambit ni LJ: “During this pandemic, I don’t know if you guys can relate. Wala eh. You can’t plan anymore. Ang daming plano na hindi natuloy. Ang daming frustration. But then, we can’t really do anything about it. It’s out of our control.”
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Pagpapatuloy pa niya: “We just decided — especially me personally — I was like ‘Okay God. Bahala ka na’. There was just really a shift in my heart na talagang ‘Okay alright, if that’s what you wanna do, if that’s what God wants, then you know, we’ll go for it.”
Samantala, plano naman ng mag-asawa na dalhin ang kanilang mga kasambahay na kasalukuyang inaayos ang kanilang mga papeles para magkaroon ng visa.
Panoorin ang video sa ibaba:
Pinaplantsa na ni Jimmy ang kanyang tatahaking bagong karera bilang isang basketball coach sa US.