Hollywood journalist Janet Susan Rodriguez Nepales (extreme left) with her two daughters, Bianca Nicole and Rafaella Angelica. Photos compiled by Rogelio Medina
AS we celebrate Mother’s Day on May 11, allow me to honor mothers from all walks of life. I asked six mothers (1st batch): (1) How does it feel to be a mother? (2) Define motherhood.
The respondents’ replies are as follows:
Los Angeles-based journalist Janet Susan Rodriguez Nepales, founding board member at Manila International Film Fest: (1) “When I became a mother to my two daughters, Bianca Nicole and Rafaella Angelica, nobody told me that giving birth was the easiest part of being a mother. Being a mother is a lifetime commitment to another human being. Raising a child to grow up responsibly is the most challenging role of all. Once a mother, always a mother. It never ends after giving birth. It continues after the sleepless nights and tiring days. But the rewards one gets when you raise two loving, responsible daughters are the greatest and best gifts of all. It is like winning the highest award that any woman can get. It brings one peace of mind, contentment, and pride. Seeing my two daughters grow up to be loving, responsible, and smart women is the best feeling any woman or mother can have.” (2) “Motherhood is not just giving birth to a child but nurturing, guiding, inspiring and creating a good citizen of the world. It is a lifetime commitment and with it comes the God-given power to fulfill one’s responsibility to contribute to mankind by not only producing but also creating a human being who can also give back to the community by using his or her natural talents and abilities for the improvement of the world.”
Former CITEM employee Chyril Luz Rivera Carino of Bacolod City: (1) “I feel happy and overwhelmed. I had self-doubt at first fearing I wouldn’t be able to juggle work and household duties but I made through especially the difficult task of taking care of my child with special need.” (2) “Having one normal child and another with special needs had a big impact in my life. But both of them brought me immense joy and unconditional love. Both had been a rollercoaster ride, for my normal child’s teenage years were hard but as she grew older she was able to face the most difficult challenges in life and now has become a mature God-fearing individual. As for my special child, raising him was more complex and stressful because there were learning issues, communication difficulties and behavioral challenges. However, as time passed by, these disabilities were overcome with full support of my family and society.”
Music lover Ssheng Ilano, a mother of two kids: (1) “Being a mother is like carrying your heart outside your body, vulnerable, raw, and beating with infinite love. As a mother to a 20-year-old son and a 15-year-old daughter, motherhood is a constant balancing act— knowing when to hold on and when to let go. My son is stepping into adulthood, carving his own path, and though I trust the values I’ve instilled in him, I still whisper silent prayers every night, hoping the world is kind to him. My daughter is finding her voice, testing boundaries, and discovering who she is, and I stand both as her protector and her soft place to land when life feels overwhelming.” (2) “Motherhood is love in its rawest form — unbreakable, unconditional, and eternal. It is being a safe place, a guiding light and a fierce protector.”
Business executive Yayot Garcia: (1) “No words will be enough to describe motherhood if you ask me. But let me begin by saying I’m grateful and blessed to be a mom.” (2) “It’s a voluntary commitment to nurture and love her child.”
Vallejo City-based Jaclyn I. Tummings: (1) “Being a mother is one of the best things in the world that I’ve experienced. From pregnancy, holding them in your arms as an infant, then seeing them grow up is such an amazing experience. You go through so many challenges but you learn and grow from them all. Now that my children are past the toddler stage, they still need me. I am their comfort and peace. After a long day at work, I can’t wait to get home to see them and ask them how their day was. While I miss when they were babies, I can’t wait to see how they grow up into the preteen years and teenage years.” (2) “Looking into the dictionary, motherhood is defined as the state of being a mother. Some may bring a child into this world from the womb and from there, you raise the child, nurture the child. While not everyone can give birth to a child, I believe people can experience motherhood as an aunt as well. Motherhood in my opinion can be defined as someone raising and nurturing a child. Motherhood is providing love, guidance and being that child’s safe space.”
Cherylynn Pagdilao-Gonzales, a product of Pampanga’s Holy Angel University, who lives in Calgary, Canada: (1) “Being a mother has changed my perspective and disposition in life. I can describe it as a mix of unconditional love, responsibility, patience, unending learnings in everyday situations that life has to throw you – watching your child grow and seeing every milestone. Experiencing little moments of joy with your child is a fulfilling life experience. Yes, it can be exhausting with sleepless nights, self-doubt if you’re doing your job right as a mother and the thought of always wanting to do what’s best for my child and I know that it will be all worth it.” (2) “Motherhood for me is my greatest transformation. It’s the most beautiful exhausting and meaningful experience in my life. Motherhood has helped me to think more deeply in every situation. For me the most important thing about motherhood is the sacrifices that you can give for your child, time and a lot of patience. Now that I am a mother, I can say that I’m thankful that I got the privilege to experience it and be with it.”
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Many thanks to Bryan Delgado and supervisor Melissa Yusi-Rivers of Travis Credit Union branch in Green Valley, Fairfield, California for assisting me in opening an account after having at last a California Real ID.
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The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
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