To the father of my daughter, Thank you for being present from the very beginning of my pregnancy — when those two lines first appeared, and you told me you didn’t know how to feel (despite us having planned everything out). Thank you for soldiering through those…
On Friday, Jan. 18, my husband, Jared, and I finally had our baby girl. We named her Melanie Citrine. (Courtesy of Alliah Czarielle) Labor was perhaps the most physically challenging thing I’ve ever done. On my birth plan, I stated that I wanted a…
Dear (young) person with disability, I hear you. You’re having a tough time with money. Maybe you’re having difficulty finding a job. You probably have the qualifications — you may have gone to college and had internships here or there — but no company will accept you. You blame it…
The Philippines was in an extra festive mood over the Christmas season. Alongside the holiday parties, we were celebrating our country’s Miss Universe contender, Catriona Gray, who took home the crown. As a country, we tend to place high importance on events like this. To us, the Miss…
I’ve been pondering the minimalism movement a lot lately. This is because I recently found myself with more than a dozen boxes from my childhood home, and along with these came a sense of responsibility to organize the contents inside of them. As my husband and I unpacked the…
Dear hemophilia, Truth be told, I hate you sometimes. I especially hate you when you suddenly pop out of nowhere and find ways to ruin my husband’s life. I hate you when you encroach on plans made weeks in advance; long-standing plans that were carefully and painstakingly thought out. As…
These past few days have been extremely busy for my husband Jared and me. We decided to rent a couple of commercial booths at the barangay (or district) hall for the duration of our town’s weeklong fiesta — one dry goods stall for us and one for my…
Today, I became my husband’s dependent — officially. A few months ago, I wrote about being ineligible for health insurance because I was already five months pregnant when I applied for it. My only option was to register as my husband’s dependent. That meant he would have to share…
At 28 weeks pregnant, it seems I have entered my “nesting” phase. Two days ago, my husband Jared and I chanced upon a good deal for a crib. We had no intentions of getting a crib then, but by a stroke of serendipity, we ended up with one anyway.
As I write this, it’s Nov. 1 and we’re observing All Saints’ Day. On this day, I remember my mom, who passed away last June. Her final resting place is many islands away from where I live, so I am unable to pay her a visit. Nevertheless, I offer…
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