My daughter has made me so proud yesterday. We went to a tech conference and she was so well behaved. People found her to be a very charming little girl. My friends were telling me that she might grow up to be a tech startup founder like daddy and mommy. I said, she can be whoever she wants to be. My only wish is she grows up to be an independent lady who stands up for the things that she believes in based on the values that she acquires. My fear as a mom is if we as parents did a good job in instilling these values. I always question myself if what we pass on to her she truly understands or if she remembers all of the “pabaon sa buhay” or provisions that we leave with her.

All these thoughts stemmed from what I’ve recently watched.

I’ve asked moms to share some of the provisions that they learned from their moms and what provisions they want to share or pass on to their kids. These are their replies:

@avihr0916 – Be independent, determined, focused and confident.

“I always teach my children especially my daughter to be independent, determined, focused and confident”, said @avihr0916. She says that it’s so hard to be a be amor, especially if you didn’t get to have proper guidance from your own parents. She goes on saying that it’s sad, that she never got the support that she wanted from her parents, so now, she’ll make sure this never happens with my kids. “I’ll make sure that I’ll be a supportive mom with whatever my kiddos’ dreams are. And hanging maipapabaon ko sa kanila (the only provisions that I can give them) until they grow up are pieces of advice from the “realities in life” that I got — the advantages and disadvantages, the pros and cons and the life lessons that I got from each challenge in life that I experienced. Dahil gusto kong maging strong din sila kagaya ko (I want them to be strong like me).

@wahmm_6385 – I want them to see the importance of food; Food is a vessel of Love.

For @wahmm_6385, her mom’s provision or Pabaon sa Buhay to her was the importance of food. “For us, food is a vessel of love. It’s not only for nourishment. Good food needs time and patience, just like raising a family. Even if it’s something simple, I always feel loved when I eat my mom’s food. That’s why I also learned to communicate my love for people through my food.
She also taught me the value of hard work, patience, and acceptance. These three things have helped me survive the toughest times of my life, like when I lost my baby and found out my son had autism. She taught me to make the best of any situation through accepting the things I cannot change and doing the best to change what I can. I can definitely say that I am the best mom today because I learned from the best.”

@theramblingflower – Be nice and kind as you can.

“My parents had lots of Pabaon sa Buhay that they passed on to me, but I have a favorite: Be nice and kind as you can.” When @theramblingflower was in gradeschool, her parents, especially her father always reminded her to be nice and to treat people with respect. “I was very masungit back then and they would always tell me how important it is to be kind. It took me a long time to realize its importance, but it shaped me to a better person.” Now I value kindness so much and I make sure to teach it to my child and only associate myself with people who have the same traits. This is a very simple “pabaon” and reminder in life, but it goes a long way.”

@annestoppableperky – Always buy an extra of everything that you have.

“My mother always reminded me to have an extra of whatever I have. Always buy a pair, so you have an extra and you don’t buy for what you just need.She says that this is an abundance magnet 😍”

@itsemsmojica – Never listen to what others say about you, because its only YOU who truly knows yourself

“I was never close to my mom so i consider my grandmother as my mom and her #pabaonsabuhay to me is never listen to what others say about you, because it’s only YOU who truly knows yourself. No matter what other people say about you, at the end of the day, you know who you are and let others see that in a positive way.

@faeflutterby – Life is a never ending learning process, so never stop learning.

There are things I learned from my mother that I was able to only get to understand further when I grew older. These where “Never to expect things so you don’t end up getting disappointed.” otherwise I’ll end up more disappointed and hurt than I will ever be, and “Life is a never ending learning process, so never stop learning,” which I feel is substantial in every aspect on life. Now, as a single mother of two, I try to incorporate these things that I learned and impart them to my kids, and these virtues she passed on to me definitely gave me strength to carry on this obligation. I never would have imagined I would have. Her #PabaonSaBuhay definitely became my weapon to overcome adversities in life. Okay, I’m teary-eyed. I’ll leave it here. Much love!

@caiganeda – Always put God first and always keep your promises.

When @caiganeda was a teenager, her mama had a lot of moral lessons. She mentioned that she would just roll her eyes before 🙂 She always though that her mother kinda exaggerated. “First is always put God first, not really to the extent that you need to go to church everyday. Always pray. Keep your faith with Him and I might say that until now God never fails to amuse me given all the blessings that I have. Next is close family ties, that blood is thicker than water.” She though that her mother played favourites before because the eldest always got their attention. Now she understands that each sibling has their own capabilities and strength, and that was the reason. She realised, now with three kids, that you need to have different approaches for each kid.

“Hindi pwede iisng approach lang sya. It doesn’t work that way pala. And yung pagiging magalang and kababaang loob is most important na parati nya din sinasabi. But until now we are using po at opo and nag mamano pa din kami sa mga matatanda. Hoping mamana ng mga anak ko yan lahat.”

Another thing is to always keep your promises. “Palagi manatili na taong may isang salita most specially sa mga bata para din matuto sila na magkeep ng promises if they make one. And be madiskarte and matipid kung kinakailangan, like now pasukan. I teach my daughter not to buy new things kasi magaganda pa gamit nya. Instead of printing names, we do letter cutting din na natutunan ko din sakanya. Madami pa pangaral sila mama. And hoping maipasa ko sya sa mga anak ko at magiging apo in the future.”

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These are really great lessons from different moms and daughters who come from all walks of life. How about you? What’s your #PabaonsaBuhay that you want to pass on to your children or to future generations? Share it with us using #PabaonSaBuhay #Safeguard

Sincerely,

 

 

 

 

PS. I promised a gift for one of the daughters or moms above. But since, I’m feeling generous, I’ll choose two respondents to receive these gifts to 🙂 I choose

@caiganeda

and

@wahmm_6385

I’ll message you both on instagram! 🙂