Gardening is proven to be a helpful and calming form of exercise. It’s healthy for both mind and body. Older people are more common to engage in gardening for its many benefits, including increasing level of mobility, promoting relaxation, and reducing stress. As a bonus, this also gives them nutritious food just right at their backyards.
Good thing Ma. Noressa Barraquio, a secondary teacher, has an ample room for her plant babies at her home in Suntrust Verona, a house and lot subdivision in Silang, Cavite.
Noressa has been married to German Joseff for 36 years now and is gifted with three children whom are now all successful individuals. Their firstborn, Mary Grace, is a nurse assigned in Iceland. Their second, Joseff Nicolle, is now a medical technologist at a hospital in San Pedro, Laguna, while their youngest, Michelle, is now an accountant in Doha, Qatar.
She stopped teaching a few years ago to focus on upholding her family. Now that all her three daughters are living on their own and already thriving in their chosen careers, she and her husband are the only ones living at their home in Suntrust Verona.
“Life here in Verona is good. It’s been very peaceful ever since we moved in on October of 2018. This serves as our ‘retirement house’,” shared the 55-year-old mom.
Since the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), she has devoted most of her time on gardening, from which she found relaxation and joy while doing something worth her time.
“The climate here is perfect for gardening. Its close proximity to Tagaytay makes growing plants easier, and I really delight in watching my plants grow,” Noressa enthused.
Gardening not only calms her but also wipes off her longing for her daughters. Her plants provide her new babies to care for, especially now that their planned reunion was postponed.
They worry about the perils their daughters face, particularly the frontliners, so they call them almost everyday to guarantee their safety. They too, are worried about their parents, but the couple always reassures them that they are safe within the corners of their home, in a community where their security is prioritized.
The couple is beyond thankful for the admin and property management staff of Verona, who put themselves on the front line for them in this time of crisis.
“We are both very grateful for all the frontliners here as they are the first to face the dangers of outside. Thank you so much for your service,” said the mother of three, expressing her heartfelt admiration for her community’s frontliners.
She proudly shares how the community sternly carries out the precautionary measures within the neighborhood.
“The guards rove frequently. They remind residents when it’s time for curfew. They are very strict when it comes to wearing face masks, and they give out leaflets with reminders on how to prevent COVID19,” the satisfied homeowner added.
