Publisher's Note

Publisher’s Note
HAPPY NEW YEAR! HAPPY THREE KINGS! As we are now in 2019, new year, new beginnings, new challenges and new opportunities. Everyone is entitled to make their new year’s resolution for as long as they keep it in mind and make sure that they do it to the best of their ability. When I was young [...]
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Motherhood

By Consuelo (Chit) E. Munar

“Successful mothers are not the ones who have never struggled. They are the ones who never give up despite the struggles.” – Unknown Author

Motherhood can be one of the most intense and transformative experiences of a woman’s life. Like most mothers, the moment I became a mother, I courageously navigated the tumultuous inner experiences of being a mother, with all its joy, pain, change and uncertainty.

My first preview of the ups and downs of motherhood came in during my first trimester of pregnancy. I started to experience “hyperemesis gravidarum,” or morning sickness ( the technical medical term is nausea and vomiting during pregnancy) at 6 weeks of pregnancy. While half of women who get nausea during pregnancy feel complete relief by about 14 weeks, a small percentage of women have symptoms that persist continually (or nearly) until delivery. I had morning sickness for 5 months; lost so much weight, and off from my government job.

My daughter was born two weeks late from my March 17 due date. At 26, I thought I was totally prepared for the shock of motherhood. I freaked out when she started to cry consistently at dusk time that last for 2 to 3 hours in one whole week. The pediatrician didn’t find anything wrong with her.
The absolute truth that I know above all else is this: Motherhood changes everything. Forever.

I always knew I wanted to be a mom, from the time I began babysitting right up to the moment my water broke. My life as a mother was about to begin. As I held my fragile new baby in my arms, I made the number one fundamental and primary commitment to my child and soon-to-come children – to do everything I can in my power to help my children be happy, nurture them and equip them with the skills they need to lead fulfilling lives and to be good citizens of the world.

Though my children are grown now, I was a working mom throughout their young lives. I’ve always found great joy and pride in working, being useful, having a source of livelihood. With motherhood, however, came unpredictable and surmountable challenges.

Statistics Canada says the employment rate of women with children under the age of three was 64.4 percent last year. The employment rate for women with children of any age has been steadily rising for the past three decades. The challenges for mothers are real: all moms have several things to do at once. I learned to do multi-tasking- doing few chores at the same time. In retrospect, I wondered how I cooked, cleaned, shopped, caught naps, chauffeured to choir, ballet rehearsals and piano lessons, helped children with their home works and managed to be awake during band and piano recitals, while working full-time as a night-shift data-processing technician. Juggling between responsibilities at home and at work was no easy task.

Working moms don’t get enough sleep. Working moms with a sick kid often don’t get enough sleep. Working moms with anxieties and worries don’t get enough sleep. Working moms experiencing stress at home and at work don’t get enough sleep. At times, staying awake at work will be a sheer act of will.

Yet, like most other mothers, I survived and thrived as a mom. As a mother, I believe that kids are the best teachers of life’s most profound lessons: that pain and suffering are as much a part of life as happiness and joy; that change and impermanence are all we count on for sure; that nobody’s perfect. The miracle I know is that my children will always love me with all my imperfections if I can do the same for them.

Motherhood

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