A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.
-- Agatha Christie
Not too long ago, if a mother was asked to choose between her career over her family, the answer would always be the latter, and the decision wouldn't be as hard. But nowadays, this is definitely not the case.
Women flourish in a variety of careers, even in realms usually reigned over by men. And no, this is not just in the United States or in first-world countries. This is also very much the case here in our little tropical paradise - the Philippines. Based on statistics presented by the National Statistical Coordination Board for 2010, women have a labor participation rate of 49.3%. And that's quite impressive, given the traditions and beliefs we have here.
I was part of those figures even before I graduated. I took on side jobs when I was still in college so I'd have more baon. :-) And right after I graduated, I got a job as an editorial coordinator for a magazine. No bakasyon moments for me. From then, I have been a member of the workforce, and my longest vacation from work ever, was my maternity leave ( I had a CS operation so it was longer than usual).
I always thought I can balance having a corporate career and a family. It was working out pretty well when we were just wife and husband, our joint income was more than enough for the two of us and we got to enjoy some luxuries. Things changed though when I had my daughter. As far as income is concerned, purse strings were stretched a bit tighter, but were still thankfully sufficient for our needs.
Although aside from finances, there were other things that changed, and this includes my priorities in life. No longer did I see my corporate career as foremost in my list, as my daughter had taken that primary post in my hierarchy of 'things-to-focus-on'. In addition, my desire to take care of Keisha in every essence of the word was no longer working with my want to nourish my ascent on the corporate ladder. I then formulated my plans to resign, but had no target date just yet.
As is normal with most infants, my precious one had her fair share of sickness during her first year. At first, it felt ok to leave her with her yaya, like when she just had the common cold, and she was just less active. But, there was this one time when she was so sick, she was finding it difficult to breathe, had fever, and had to be nebulized. The mother in me saw no other option but to take a couple of days of emergency leave from work to take care of my ailing child.
I'm thinking this may have been forgivable in other companies, but in the call center industry being out for more than one day (on SL or EL), is like committing a crime that you have to prove your innocence for. I do understand why attendance is so important for them, but I personally think the rules has room for improvement. I did follow the necessary procedures to be out for those two days, but issues still arose from it, and I only learned about it when I got back to work (the issue I think, was caused by incorrect information coming from a certain department).
That was the last straw for me.
After that, I told my team leader that if my kid were to get sick again, I would want to be with her, and that going through something like this every time she gets sick is proving to be too much for me to handle...I told him I was going to file my immediate resignation.
It was mid-January 2010 when I finally became 'free' of my corporate bonds. I already had some ongoing part-time writing gigs then, so that somehow helped with the monthly income. It was definitely far from what I used to earn, but at least I am able to contribute something to pay the bills. :-)
On the brighter side, since then, I am able to spend every single day with my darling daughter. I am able to see her milestones, notice the little changes in her personality, take care of her when she's not well, play with her anytime she wants to, teach her ABCs, nursery rhymes, dance with her, sleep beside her in the afternoon and at night, fix her meals, and a lot more.Come to think of it, in my five years in the corporate world, I've never been more fulfilled as a person than when I resigned from work and took on full-time motherhood. :-)
 |
| photo credits to: http://careervanity.com |
I still earn a bit less than what I used to, but since my rate has increased from the time I started on oDesk, my earnings had already progressed.
Our expenses have increased, and sometimes, our income doesn't seem to be enough for everything and for savings, but we do pull through.
It was a really really difficult decision to resign from work, leave such a promising career, good benefits, and fairly high compensation. But then again, I see for myself every day the positive impact it had on my child (and myself). Keisha became more expressive, she learned to talk and walk with my help, she became more affectionate, she is a well-disciplined child, and a lot more. And I...became more patient, more content with the simple things that I have, and was reunited and earning through my first love - writing.
Being a WAHMmy isn't always as blissful as I want it to be. But its benefits far outweigh its disadvantages, and despite and inspite of the challenges that I continue to face, I'm happy.
I'm a mom who gets to stay home and take care of her kid, and I'm a writer who gets to do what she's passionate about, and earn from it too. I have no reason not to appreciate my life. :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment