A BUMPY RIDE
I had planned my life so well. Finish law school, pass the bar, marry, have kids and work myself to a corner office in a prestigious firm. Fate, however, had other ideas.
After marriage, I just couldn’t get my ducks in a row. I remember the countless trips to different fertility doctors, the painful injections, and other invasive procedures that all proved futile. The fact that I was doing all these while trying to jumpstart my career as a tax lawyer only aggravated the situation. Each failed attempt brought varying degrees of sadness, fear, despair, anger and finally hopelessness and defeat.
Just before our 4th wedding anniversary, the husband and I took a trip to Sydney. We explored the city, shared long meals and even longer conversations. A month after we returned to Manila, I was pregnant. We were ecstatic!
We attended Lamaze school, bought too many baby clothes, and furnished the nursery in our little starter home. I scoured books for baby names, frowned at ugly maternity wear and developed a dislike for laundry detergent soaps. On my second trimester, my OB adviced me to slow down and take a leave from work. But instead of the complete bedrest the doctor ordered, I enrolled in French classes in Alliance Française de Manille. “Ce fut un moment très agréable.” (It was a lovely time.)
My son was born on a rainy day in August. He weighed a little over 9 pounds and had a full head of hair. His dad’s first words to him were “You look exactly like your mother.” As clichéd as it may sound, I knew then that my life would change forever.
FAST FORWARD
It has been eleven years since the birth of my firstborn. He just graduated from grade school last month. In his speech before the student body as batch salutatorian, he said “Thank you for being the first person to pick up her kid in school when there’s a storm, for never letting me fall behind my schoolwork all those times I was hospitalized and for always pushing me to do my best. I love you very much, Mom.”
My road to motherhood has certainly been challenging. Just when I thought that I had it all figured out, life throws me a curve ball. It is, however, in the trials that I find the strength and wisdom that leads me to have a stronger faith. Today, I think of all the blessings that have come my way and how grateful I am for each one. I am most thankful for the gift of a loving husband and my two children (yes, we’ve added a gorgeous baby girl to the bunch!). My days have definitely become noisier, adventure-laden and downright insane!
The gift of a happy and healthy family is all that I ask for on Mother’s Day. I love you A, M and R. All of you have made me into the woman I am today.
Paulyne Fermin is the dynamic multitasking mother behind the blog The Busy Queen P.
She debuts as a regular columnist for The Standard this coming Friday.