Fourteen years ago, the salary of a teacher in the Philippines was around P10, 000 a month. We were that family who survived in that amount of money. It could even go lower! If a teacher had loans, the money she could get would go as low as P3, 000.

The Sacrifices

My mother was a public high school teacher; my father did not have a stable income. Basically, we were living with a Teacher 1 salary. We are four children in the family. When my older sister was in fourth year college in PUP Quezon, I was on my third year in UP Diliman and my brother was a freshman in PUP Sta Mesa (then in San Beda and transferred later on in Ateneo de Naga). Given the fact that we needed to pay for monthly accommodation, food and allowance, how would a P10, 000 salary or may be even less suffice the expenses of our family?

It was not easy to raise four children, provide their needs and make sure they finish their studies till college with little amount of money. But, my mom was able to do that! She was able to send us to university in spite of financial difficulty that we had at that time. She had undergone a lot of sacrifices so that we would have what we have today. Luckily, her hard work paid off! Now, my sister works in the Accounting department of an American company, I am a preschool teacher in Singapore, my brother is Operations Manager of a call center company and managing Atlas Finder Travel and Tours, his own travel agency, while my youngest sister works in HR department of an American company. This we owe to the extraordinary mother we have!

The Party

The hard work and sacrifices of a mother cannot be paid. But, as a sign of gratitude for having a wondrous mother, we threw a birthday surprise for her. When she retired this year, we surprised her of a birthday party at Romulo Cafe in Bel-Air, Makati. We did it so secretly that she thought we forgot her birthday.

The Encomium

To my mother, I witnessed your uphill battle and sacrifices in leading us to have a better life. We cannot reach this, we cannot have what we have now if you did not face all the tribulations. You are the epitome of an amazing mother one want to have. I thank you for standing strong and courageous during those times we needed you most. Know that, at this time, you have additional four mighty children who can stand with you in facing all life adversities. I am very blessed to have you, we are very blessed to have you! Happy, happy Mother’s Day! I love you, we love you beyond words!