The “Jill” Of All Trades: An Empowered Millenial Mom on Mother’s Day

Katrina in her late 30s has been an achiever in her own right. She is very low-key simple woman, far from being a show-off, never flaunts her abilities, but simply undertakes every project with no fanfare, together with the people around her be it at home, workplace or in the community. Definitely, she has it both: a team leader and a team player!

Katrina and I treat each other as more than a “friend”, as if , we’re “in a relationship” (lol), seems so near but literally far from one another. We seldom see each other even prior to this pandemic, but there is some special bond between us by a spark of life – since her childhood days – we became joined at the hip!

Katrina has been an independent-minded person, based on my recollections about her since childhood days, as a daughter, a student, and even in her professional (actually, we happened to be in the same office building when she accepted her first job – a certain project under the Office of the President but had never consulted me about work) and family life. She is versatile with proven skills and was able to perfectly pass the test of working under pressure from previous work experiences having principals who are demanding and of high-caliber!

Candidly, My Useful Tips.Com (MUTC) considers Katrina as one of the many “silent” empowered mothers/women who are focused and determined to perfectly play their roles behind the scenes. We see her as proficient in everything she does, being a mother, a wife, a daughter, a career driven woman/a lady executive, a choir master in their parish Church and a community organizer in their place.

MUTC would have wanted to personally speak with Katrina and have the conversations recorded but knowing her, she would opt not to do it. Hence, this blog instead.

Her husband “Nash” gladly helped MUTC in briefly describing who she is (in 3 words) for each of the following categories which confirmed some of it that we’re aware of:

1. As a Mother/Working Mom: Nash portrayed Katrina as selfless, smart and responsible.

Prior to the pandemic, Katrina opted to commute daily to her workplace (back and forth that would roughly be 4 hours with no traffic) even if she has an option to stay in a place near her office. Her top most priority is to be with her family even if she had to sacrifice a lot, e.g. hassle of commuting, the lack of rest and sleep due to time constraints. She couldn’t bear not seeing her kids in a day.

Pandemic came and it gave her the needed temporary respite from the hustle and bustle of the city as the option to work from home to help curb the spread of Covid-19 virus was inevitable. She virtually meets and interacts with her colleagues and staff on office matters. The work from home mode saves a lot of time on her case as there’s no need to travel into the office everyday. A multi-tasker, efficient and conscientious in her work, she’s able to strike a balance between her home life and work life, juggling her duties and tasks in a very limited time of the day, particularly with her active kids around. She has learned to adapt the work environment within the confines of her home, making it more healthy and productive for her work and well being.

Katrina and Nash have two beautiful kids, “Dany” and “Andi”, who are both bright, pretty and smart. However, Andi is someone who needs more love and care from her parents. She is such an amazing sweet and cheerful child with Down Syndrome (DS). There is no doubt that Dani and Andi will grow to be amazing ladies with their Mom and Dad as their mentors.

Katrina has deep faith in God. With spiritual guidance and strong beliefs, for sure, she will always be able to withstand the challenges in her life. Just like Moms with DS children, she gives out her 100% love and care to her adorable kids especially with Andi, in a nurturing environment. We have witnessed Andi as a sweet and cheerful child, at times playing with her Mom and obeying what the latter tells her. Katrina and Nash’s love and care for both of their kids would definitely have a positive impact on their kids’ growth and development.

2, As Community Organizer/A Friend: Katrina is described as humble, people oriented and responsible.

MUTC couldn’t agree more. Ever since, she has been very friendly and helpful to everyone. She was already involved in Church related activities even when she was still young, as a choir member and when she was in High School, she was already the pianist of the group without labeling her as the head but just the pianist of the group. Even now that she’s a working Mom she finds time for the Choir (as the choirmaster), teaching/practicing the members for new songs. It seems it’s a lifetime commitment for her and her group to share their time and talent, by singing for the Lord during the Holy Mass in their parish and other parishes upon invitation.

She has also been active in organizations in their school, both academic and extra-curricular activities. She used to be a team leader in the Youth/Singles for Christ, one of the family ministries of the Catholic Couples for Christ, by sharing ideas and spreading the Good News to others especially the youth.

Probably, it is in her DNA that she has this passion to help other people. Her grand aunties who are nuns used to be social workers, both involved in community organizations/development in their hey days. Even her Mom and some of her Aunties were into community organizations during those times when they were still connected with certain non-governmental and charitable organizations (e.g. Philippine Business for Social Progress/Laguna Rural Development Project, a non-governmental organization which at that time serves the poorest of the poor in urban and rural areas, implementing projects meant for poverty reduction and sustainable development).

During this community lockdowns and quarantines, Katrina and her team formulated plans on how to help the poor people in the community who have been greatly affected by this terrible Covid-19 pandemic, sans the limelight, vested interest, and hidden agenda. What is important to them is that they’re able to lend a hand and in a way help a cash-strapped Government by sharing some of what they have (their personal funds and resources from donors) to those who have lost jobs, those who have no food on their tables and the like. At first, they set up tables and made people line up at the front of their Parish Church but on second thoughts, they have decided to adopt the system of house-to-house distribution observing health protocols which was more logical.

MUTC has nothing more to say but HAT’s off to her and her team, for the sense of “pakikipagkapwa”, and for the genuine “BAYANIHAN” spirit!

3. Last but not the least is: Who is Katrina as a Wife? For sure, her husband has a nice way of describing her in 3 words: “attractive, supportive, makes me a better man”.

Wow! What a way to describe her! But MUTC couldn’t agree more. If Katrina would go with the flow on beauty and fashion, she would even exude the beauty from the inside out. Nash thought she is the crown of his family. Mutual respect, understanding and appreciating each other (apart from love and trust) are key factors in a husband and wife relationship and a sure path to have a healthy and strong marriage. Katrina has also a knack of cracking jokes, she is a “Joy” in the family! She makes everyone in the family smile and laugh. According to Nash, her Mom Dory and her departed Dad Lito (who is now in Heaven) are those who oftentimes buy her jokes!

Katrina is one of the Millenial Moms who has super busy body juggling her time as a mother to her kids, a working Mom, a wife, and a community organizer, with the end goal of making this world a better place to live in, a world that is humane, equitable and peaceful.

Unfortunately, those who are being recognized as empowered mothers and women by mainstream media and large organizations are those who have the “right connections” and those who have the capability to fund resources (the well “moneyed” people) and build their own non profit organization for their advocacies (some of which are legitimate while some are for vested interests). Some people are of the view that empowered mothers of today are those who are leaders, those women with power, vision and grace, achievers, innovators, those who are brave and vocal, and those with an inborn sense of love and compassion. But nah, there are some people who have more than these, who strive hard to be the best they can for the greater good.

Happy Mother’s Day to everyone in the whole wide world!!!: To our Inay Aying in Heaven, Nanay Gloria, our siblings, our sibs-in-law, nieces who are already Moms, cousins who are Moms and to MUTC’s friends who are Moms. God bless us all and always.

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