I’ve always wanted to be a mom.
Being a mom is a full time job. No days off. No vacation pay. However, the benefits of being a mom far outweigh any other benefits from any other job I can imagine. In order to be the best mom I knew I could be, I always planned on being a teacher. The hours that I would put in for work as a teacher would benefit my children and coincide with their own school year. I would have time off from work when my kids have time off from school. I would be able to spend as much time with them as I wanted AND I would be working with children. I’ve always wanted to work with children.
When I married the love of my life I knew that our adventures together would somehow take us back to where he lived when we met…Manila, Philippines. So, we moved to Manila in 2006 with our three children. I thought it would be an easy move for me because I am a Filipina-American who has strong ties to both the Italian-American side and the Filipina side. I grew up surrounded by my Titas and Titos who would visit on the weekends, sing karaoke, play mahjong and partake in big huge feasts lovingly prepared by my mother in order to bring the family together. In fact, we lived a stone’s throw from many of our Filipino relatives. I proudly identified myself as a Filipina any time an opportunity presented itself.
Now that I have been living here for quite some time, I have realized that I’m somewhere in between both of these cultures. I guess the benefit of being “in between,” is that all the positive aspects from each culture can be passed onto my kids.
Through this blog, I hope to document the journey of finding myself through motherhood, learning through my children, my students, and my adventures here in Manila. I will share my thoughts on yoga, cooking, crafting, raising a special child, exploring, eating, playing, and living in Manila.
With each child I have grown and I have learned. Evangelina, even at 3 months in this picture taught me so much about myself, about family, about my faith, and about what is truly important in this life. It is truly my belief, that while I was put on this earth to teach and raise my children, they are also my greatest teachers. Photo Credit: Little People Photography