Slipping through my fingers

As I navigate through my personal life and my life as a cabin crew, the question I get asked most often is, “Kailan balik mo?”, “Uwi ka?”, or “Manila ka?”

Those are the questions I’m quite familiar with and know how to answer in a single word or with a longer explanation. Whenever people ask me these questions, there’s only one answer that comes to mind, and it’s one I keep to myself: I want to see my family and my lovely niece, Louisa Rose.

I am the first in our family to become an OFW, or what we call in the Philippines an Overseas Filipino Worker. Before moving abroad, I made a promise to myself that I would be present in every special occasion that our family celebrates, either it be birthdays, graduations, weddings, holidays, and many more. I didn’t want to miss any of those important moments. I’m happy to say that up to this day, I still uphold that promise. Thankfully, my work makes it possible for me to be home whenever I have the chance.

Whenever people find out that I’m in my hometown, they would tell me “parang Manila lang ang Doha ha”, “OFW ka ba talaga?”, and it's funny because I wouldn’t mind flying nine hours from Doha to Manila just to go home, even on back-to-back flights.

In my experience, working in the aviation industry feels like it consumes so much of your time that, in the blink of an eye, everyone and everything around you changes quickly, especially when you’re living abroad. Nonetheless, I’ve learned to see things from a different perspective and remind myself that I can still do the things that matter, regardless of any situation. That is why I always try my best to be present whenever I can, because for me, the most precious thing in this life is the moments we share with our loved ones. Moments that we will relive through our memories.

They say people should have a work-life balance, and I am doing my best to have that kind of balance. After my flights (if it’s my leave and I have a long days off), you’ll often see me rushing to the airport to catch another flight. It’s like a non-stop cycle of take off, landing, and everything in between.

At this stage of my life, I’m too busy catching flights, and what a privilege that is.

I went home this month to celebrate the birthdays of my dad and my brother. They’re only a week apart, so I stayed a few extra days in Manila. I always feel recharged whenever I’m surrounded by the people I love.

My best friend, Zarina, we are always trying new things together. This time, we took a dance class, did a rock-paper-scissor challenge, and even sang together at my dad’s birthday party. Despite the long distance, every time we see each other, it feels like nothing has changed. I think that’s one of the best things about being best friends with the same girl since 2012. No matter how much time passes or how far apart we are, we always pick up right where we left off.

To sum it all up, the reason why I always make time to go back home monthly or whenever I have a few days off is that I don’t want to slip everything all on my fingers, especially when it comes to my loved ones.