Gretchen Rubin has just released a short video about the value of time spent with our loved ones. “The days are long, but the years are short.”
As a working mom, it struck close to home. I’m often so busy trying to squeeze time to be THE superwoman and often forget that for my son, all I need to do is be his mom.
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Motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials. ~Meryl Streep
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Here are a couple of things I learned from my son’s confinement:
1. Know your medical benefits. Even though our employers use the same HMO, the benefits were very different - mine (higher room rate - all incidentals must be paid upon discharge), his (no cash out - subject to deferred payment via payroll deductions). We had to sit down and compare line by line before deciding to use mine.
2. Know your rights under the contract signed between your employer and the HMO. All HMOs have liason officers at the hospital. Ask them the nitty gritty so that you won’t be unpleasantly surprised when you get the bill.
For example: My employer has an agreement with the HMO that if a regular private room cannot be provided within 24 hours, I am entitled to an automatic upgrade to the next class, so long as it isn’t a suite. Now, did you know that in MMC, the next class to a regular private room is not a large private room but a suite? I went ballistic when I called the call center and they said that I had to pay extra for the large private because it was within the same “class/category”.
Also, did you know that the 24 hour count is used according to the hospital’s billing cycle? So even if I had been admitted at 4pm on the 19th, since MMC’s billing cycle starts at 9am, I needed to find another room by 9am on the 20th or be charged extra. Weird.
3. ER is convenient but will cost you extra. When we rushed Andre to the hospital on the 19th, he was suffering from dehydration. His pedia recommended that he be admitted right away. Rather than wait for a room to be found, I requested that he be sent immediately to the emergency room so that he could be hooked up to an IV, and have his blood extracted and Xray taken. Anyway, the ER costs were covered by our medical plan. I’m glad I did because it took me some time to get a room for us (there’s a lot of sick children).
4. Make HR your BFF.
I don’t think that I would have been able to process our medical papers or get the kind of attention from the HMO that we got it if it hadn’t been for the help provided by HR. We were able to get discharged even at the extremely odd hour of 945pm yesterday because all the paperwork had already been accomplished.
Being hospitalized is mentally and emotionally draining. It is good to know your entitlements before *knock on wood* you, or a loved one, needs to be confined.
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Motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials. ~Meryl Streep
Subscribe to my feed or subscribe via email to get notified of my next post.
I’m giving my father honor and paying this country back.
– Jun Lozada
Among all the quotable quotes made by Jun Lozada yesterday, this one struck the deepest chord. When I heard him say this, I cried - admittedly not a very good picture to present to my officemates.
We are brought up to honor our parents through filial piety — which most children (and parents) believe to be through complete obedience and loyalty. In our culture, the umbilical cord between parent and child remains metaphorically attached until death (and sometimes even beyond the grave). Choice of school… choice of career path… choice of employer… to a certain extent choice of spouse… is often dictated, or at the very least strongly influenced, by the parental bias. When one chooses to break away and do something out of the norm, one is often accused to having “walang utang na loob” to the parent figure.
We often forget that blind obedience can also mean doing wrong. The sins of the father should not be committed by the son.
My fervent wish as a parent is for my son to grow up with a strong backbone and accurate moral compass. I may not always agree with his choices but I pray that they be made in wisdom and good fath. I also pray that I may accept them for what they are and let him live his life. =)
Jun Lozada’s father must be smiling down on him.
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Motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials. ~Meryl Streep
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A recent article by Junie Del Mundo and Robert de Quelen presented some very interesting ideas on the Philippines as a brand. You can download the article by clicking Branding the Philippines (in an Increasingly) FLAT WORLD.
Key Insights: 1. The Brand is US. The Core Ingredient of the Philippine brand is its people. Like it or not, the Philippines is known largely by its largest export: talent and labor. A person’s perception of the Philippines can be shaped by a chance encounter with a kababayan. Call Center agents, nurses, domestic helpers, accountants, bankers… these are our brand ambassadors. We are ALL stakeholders and should act accordingly.
2. Patience and Consistency = Country Branding “Country branding requires persistence because it seeps every so slowly into the minds and hearts of the target audiences. It is a work that will continue and even outlive several generations.” We need to start with our children.
Children learn by example. Here are some things we can do to mold our kids to be brand ambassadors extraordinaire:
* Instead of going to HK Disneyland this summer, swim with the whalesharks in Donsol, shoot the rapids in Cagayan de Oro. Climb the rice terraces. Explore Bohol. Discover La Mesa Dam. Trek Taal. Bookmark Ivan Henares.
* When abroad, spread awareness of Philippine brands. Share your Boy Bawang. Use VMV products. Promote medical tourism (we have excellent opththalmologist and dentists). Dazzle the crowd in an intricately embroidered barong.
* Visit local museums. Join the boutique tours of Carlos Celdran.
* Experiment with Filipino Food. When in NY, eat at Cendrillon (www.cendrillon.com). Visit La Cocina de Tita Moning in Manila.
* Revel in the thriving art scene. Watch a Filipino movie. Listen to OPM. Catch a performance at the CCP. Visit an art gallery. Read a book.
* Respect your parents. Live a frugal life. Be a loving spouse and helpful friend.
Respetohin natin ang ating ina
Ilaw siya ng tahanan
Bigyang galang ang ama
At ang payo niya ang susundan
At sa magkakapatid
Kailangan ay magmahalan
Dapat lang ay pagusapan ang hindi nauunawan
Mommies and daddies (especially those based overseas), any thoughts or reactions on how we can strengthen the Philippine brand?
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Motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials. ~Meryl Streep
Subscribe to my feed or subscribe via email to get notified of my next post.
Sometimes, a 9-to-5 job just doesn’t cut it any more. It can cut into too many things — quality time with family, to indulge in your passion etc. Freelance work is starting to look more and more attractive and increasingly lucrative. Who wouldn’t want to be paid to do what you enjoy?
Barbara Winter, author of the best-selling Making a Living Without a Job shares her “Six Pillars of Entrepreneurial Success”. This was done in relation to freelance photography but can very well be applied elsewhere.
Pillar # 1: Find Inspiration Find your “natural habitat’ — the place you feel most at home. It could be your home, nature, heck, even the mall. Immerse yourself in your favorite books, music, movies, and other art.
Pillar # 2: Gather Information and Ideas
A determined entrepreneur believes that she can find what she needs at any step along the way, and monitors what she needs to know next. This is so easy to do in this electronic age - if anything, you run the risk of info overload. Which leads to…
Pillar # 3: Find Your Heroes and Heroines
You’ll find success faster as an entrepreneur if you’re willing to learn from other successful entrepreneurs. Even if they aren’t doing what you want to do, you can learn from their methods.
Pillar # 4: Reinforce Your Dream
Keep coming back to your big dream. Whatever you have your eye on — keep it in your sights. It’ll make it easier to get through the tough times.
Pillar # 5: Develop a “Prosperity Attitude” Barbara pointed out that most of us aren’t brought up with a “prosperity attitude.” Money can be an emotionally charged issue. So it’s important to leave behind limiting thoughts on what you deserve to have or to earn. Open yourself up to making money and being prosperous.
Pillar # 6: Find a Supportive Community
Supportive people can make a world of difference. entrepreneurial success. You need those people who you can call to share in your excitement. These are the ones who get excited about your projects and ideas, who help you think up solutions, and who hold on to your dream when you lose track of it… so it will be there waiting for you when you’re ready to pick it up again.
So here goes my mantra: Work to Live. Live to Love.
Forget Barney. I’m a Sesame Street kid and proud of it. =) Whether it’s learning letters and numbers or tackling more challenging topics like conflict resolution and healthy eating, the friendly, furry Sesame Street characters have been there to lend a hand. If you are like me, you probably still remember some of your favorites. My fondest memories were of Guy Smiley (who could forget his version of “Sunny Day”). The great news is that the Sesame Workshop is posting some of its classic skits online for both parents and kids to enjoy.Watch some of these clips now! Go to the below link:
Working Mom is one of the better magazines in the market with well-written articles by working moms such as Maribel Sison Dionisio and Queena Lee-Chua. This April’s issue had a very insightful piece about which factors contribute to student success written by Queena. What makes students excel? Through the joint efforts of family unit. Learning starts at home and parents are the key to success.Recommendations of the Parent’s Best Practices Study (Ateneo de Manila High School) · Develop good study habits
· Create a conducive environment for study
· Communicate regularly and well
· Encourage love for reading and judicious multimedia use
· Ensure solid grounding in the fundamentals
· Emphasize effort more than ability
· Promote genuine self-worth
· Discipline with love
· Set personal, academic, and life goals
· Be there for the family
Recommendations of the 2006 Study focusing on Marikina and Bulacan public high schools:
· Discipline to instruct, not punish
· Set goals, for wishes are not enough
· Rely on ourselves, not on fate
· Strengthen family bonds
· Make the home fit for learning
It comes as no surprise that children raised in loving and supportive home-learning environments have been found to do better in school. Parenting is not an easy task but we need to take it seriously for our children’s mental and emotional well-being.
In one of the sites I regulary visit, there was a post about the 5 Investments Everyone Should Make. All of the suggestions were non-traditional: “your name” domain; exercise; something you’ve always wanted to try and time to think.It was the last item that caught my attention.
Invest in someone else. And by that, it doesn’t necessarily mean family. Be a mentor. Share your hard-learned lessons with someone else. Help them become a better person so that they too can mentor another person in the future.
As we go through the various life stages, there is an increased consciousness of our mortality and predisposition for certain illnesses. The Harvard Center for Cancer has developed a easy to use metrix to help people find out their risk for developing five of the most important diseases in the United States. What is your risk for Cancer? Diabetes? Heart Disease? Osteoporosis? Stroke? Go to http://www.yourdiseaserisk.harvard.edu/ , find out and most importantly, get personalized tips for preventing them.
Work to live. Live to love. That is the aspiration of most parents as we work to give our children a brighter future. Like most mommies, I struggle to balance the checkbook while at the same time trying to bring up my son in the best way I know how. Come join me on the journey for financial security and family happiness.
