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| The perfect end to a perfect day |
In these past few years, I am grateful to say that I have had a lot of happy, contented days like these. Being a work-at-home mom has allowed me to help my husband meet our daily needs, so although we are not rich, we are materially comfortable. At the same time, I am able to be with my kids all day, to sort their quarrels, mold their character, supervise their education, and nurture their hearts.
This is as close to heaven as I could ever hope to get while I still live here on Earth. But my life had not always been this good.
Tough times
When my husband and I got married in 2002, our total gross household income was P10,000 per month. Those were very hard days for us.
There were times when I could not go to work because I had no more money to pay the jeepney fare. For groceries, my husband and I often had to swallow our pride and rely on my in-laws' charity. There was even one time when my husband and I had to pool all the coins we had on our person, just to come up with P75 for gas, so we could drive home the car that my brother had lent us.
With the birth of our eldest child, my husband took on the full burden of supporting us so that I could be a full-time mom. Oh, how I cherished those days because they gave me a chance to savor my firstborn son to the fullest. His first coo, first word, first step -- I witnessed them all. I nursed him for two years, taught him baby sign language, and read five books to him every night. It was pure bliss.
But financially, we were not at all well. In those two years, we went deeply in debt.
So when our second child was born, I took an office job to help make ends meet. Our finances improved, but with every passing day, I felt like a dagger was being shoved deeper and deeper into my heart. Our daughter was quickly growing out of her babyhood, and I was missing most of it.
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"I want my mommy!" "Don't worry, you'll see her this weekend." |
I know that during those years, I have lost a treasure; and I am painfully aware that I can never get it back.
Going home
Then, in 2010, a year after the birth of our third child, my husband and I decided that I should stay at home to raise the kids. I was happy that I could be present for my kids again -- but at that time, my husband's income was still sporadic. How could we possibly survive?
I decided to find a job I could do at home. I looked into online work and saw promising possibilities.
But to make decent money online, one needs reliable, high-speed Internet because online income is directly dependent on the volume of your output. If your Internet is slow, your output will be low, and your income will be low as well.
Up to that time, we had been relying on our old phone company for our prepaid dial-up Internet. Our connection was slow, unreliable, and had dismal tech support. There was even a time when we lost our Internet connection due to a hardware issue, and it took more than a week before we could get our Internet back!
Fortunately, like a nod from heaven, a Globe agent came by our house at the time that I was getting ready to leave my office job. He offered us a 1 MBPS DSL broadband Internet plan with landline at just P1,295 per month.
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Step aside, old phone. We're going digital! |
And we never looked back.
Better days
A few months after I began working online full-time, I saw my clientele gradually increase. Within a year, it reached a point where I had to hire other writers to help me fulfill my assignments. And so I had a team.
Since most of my teammates were Globe subscribers as well, I could call them with my unlimited Globe call credits to discuss client requirements. Twice a month, I would send out payments using Unionbank transfer or Globe G-cash. It was economical, efficient, and easy.
Now, because I am at home all day, I am also able to homeschool my kids. We use our high-speed Globe DSL to get free educational materials from the Internet, so we don't need to buy textbooks at all. Through YouTube, my kids are learning how to do advanced multiplication, identify dinosaurs, recite the Nicene Creed, make eagle origami, and speak beginner French.
My husband has a steady office-based job now, so I see less of him; but we both appreciate the material comforts that his work now affords us. Whenever I miss him, I simply call his Globe Duo phone. We can talk as long and as often as we want, thanks to our unlimited call credits. (And I always know where he is because I can track him through Globe Tracker, ha ha ha!)
Near the end of 2010, a production team from NET25 came to our house to take a video snapshot of our work-at-home and homeschooling family. The result was the video below. It is a picture of bliss, and I can honestly say that a good portion of this blissful life came about thanks to Globe.
Without the help of Globe's reliable services, we may not have the heavenly home life we have today. Truly, my family and I are glad to be Globe.
(Image credits: kgreggain and Librarian by Day)
| The Nanay Notebook is written by Blessie Adlaon, a work-at-home and homeschooling mom of four. Check out our About page to know more about this blog's author and our policies on advertising, press releases, and reposting. |
