(LMC goes to Tokyo and took a piece of this young mother’s thought about working abroad. Rose Paraiso, 39, is a mother of two kids who made a big sacrifice of working away from her kids to give them a good life.)
Rose Paraiso, working mom, Tokyo
Taking care of my kids personally is my greatest joy as a mother. Giving them my full attention and providing their daily needs makes me feel that I’m 100% a mother to them. But life is so hard sometimes that I had to make a very big decision for the sake of their brighter future.
I have never imagined myself leaving them and work abroad. But I have to do this so I can give them good education, convenient life and brighter future. I am working as a company employee now in Tokyo, Japan. I left them more than 5 years ago when my daughter was 5 years old and my son was 9 years old. The first year was so hard…I cried every day thinking of them every minute, wondering if they are ok.
Now, I can completely relate to parents working abroad to establish career and leave their family behind. I only have seen stories and scenes like this in television series and in the movies. Who can forget the movie of Claudine Baretto and Vilma Santos “Anak”? Oh no, I don’t want any drama in my life like that in the movie, though the story that it tells have lots of lessons to offer especially to kids with parents working abroad. This movie will make children understand the sacrifices that their parents need to undergo for the love of them.
Being a mother also means “sacrifice”. I had to be strong and fought the loneliness and homesickness that I felt. I don’t feel any regrets with the decision of leaving them for a while, because I know someday they will understand the sacrifice that I made. I must be happy now…my son is going to college this school year, in one of the prestigious universities in Manila. Hurray!
As a mother, I will continue in giving them all the best that I can give. I am still breathing because of them… They are the strength that I hang on to…they are the air that I breathe…they are my life
Editor’s note: Rose Paraiso is a graduate of A.B. Psychology at the Philippine Women’s University. She’s a dedicated mother who used to be a fulltime mom to her two kids until she decided to work in Japan when she got the opportunity to avail a visa as Japanese descendant. She is the eldest daughter of Rodolfo “Yasuo” & Norma Nakama.