mommytalkdotcom

The Stay-At-Home Dad

2008-03-29T15:08:00.000-07:00

I was brought up in a setting where my Dad worked in an 8-5 job while my Mom stayed at home to personally take care of me while a helper does the other nitty-gritty jobs such as the laundry, ironing, cleaning, etc. My mom would supervise her, cook and made sure everything was in order.

For my new family, this is not the case. As I have written in my previous post,ours is the other way around.

I'm writing this post as a tribute to my husband Bhong. He certainly is doing a very good job as a reluctant house-dad. Aside from taking care of Thiel - feeding him, bathing him, playing with him, reading to him, teaching him, the works ... he iw still able to do some cleaning around the house, cook, buy groceries and for some time, he used to do the laundry before I convinced him to talk to our Aunt to take that task off him. At the same time, this would help our Aunt obtain an income of some sort. We couldn't yet afford an all-around helper, and even if we can, it wouldn't be too nice to leave my husband, my son and a possibly young and sexy helper the whole day while i'm away working. They might look like a nice happy family without me (hehe ... just kidding or maybe not, but I certainly don't want to create a problem or do something that I might regret later on).

So ... as I was saying, I'm filled with admiration for my husband. Of course, he usually gets bored and embarrassed that he's not the one earning. There ws a time that he was always grumpy when I get home. But now, he has adjusted quite well.

This setting is not unusual nowadays. We have to be practical to survive. I salute husbands who have taken this noble task and are passing with flying colors, just as my Bhong is!

Something About Me

2008-03-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

I come from a third world country, the Philippines. Being a mother of a soon-to-be-3-year-old here, is quite a challenge. If you are familiar with our country's present economic and political situation, then you will know what I mean.

Our one and only child (so far), Thiel, came to me and my husband, Bhong, after eleven years of marriage. We waited for a long time and now that we have him, you can imagine how precious he is to us. Bhong and I agreed that only one of us will work while the other one stays with our baby to take care of him full time. (We didn't wait that long just to leave him to a nanny or anybody else.) It was just natural that i would be the one to stay while Bhong works. Perfect arrangement.

And then ... gradually, we realized that his income, which used to be just enough for the two of us, was now far from making both ends meet.

Then soon ... a major problem at his work forced him to resign.

Next ... financial crisis!

As a mother, I could not stand seeing my son go hungry. So, I decided I had to do something real quick. Sacrificing my real desire, which is to stay with Thiel, I switched roles with Bhong and applied for a job. By God's kindness and mercy, I was able to get one that would answer our immediate basic necessities and save us from total bankruptcy.

Now, I'm still a reluctant working mom. After a year and a half, I still dream and pray for a miracle to be able to go back to my original role.

Introduction

2008-03-15T11:37:00.001-07:00

Hello there and welcome to mommytalkdotcom! Moms love to share their experiences, adventures, misadventures, joys, pains, successes, struggles, pleasures, disappointments, rewards and sacrifices of being a mother. I am no exception. There would never be any single conversation that I'd be having without even mentioning my son.

We always have so many things to say when it comes to our children. So here, i'll be writing about ... who else ... but my angel, the love and joy of my life, my inspiration, my one and only son, Thiel. Of course, his Papa is equally important to me, and he's my other love and my partner in rearing thiel to become the best person that he could possibly be.

Apart from the sweet and endearing moments, motherhood is definitely a learning experience. To my fellow moms, I hope we can learn from each other through this blog. Please don't hesitate to share a piece of yourself by adding a comment to any of the posts here. Thank you and God Bless!