sun.star special/mothers day

I was a mother!

Mrs. Clara "Ching" Cabaero, 76- years-old, mother of 11 children, grandmother of more than 30 grandchildren and great grandmother of 4 great grandchildren shares her motherhood experience.

Mrs. Cabaero has no superpowers in raising her children but she did good in producing responsible and God-fearing citizens of this nation.

She shares some experiences that are delightful to remember.

What is a mother?
I was a 20 year old college student when I got married. Soon I had a baby boy who took me out of my world and became the center of my life. Suddenly nothing mattered more to me than my baby. God entrusted a human life to my care. I was a mother!

What is motherhood?
It’s a wonderful experience to watch a human life grow under your care and a great responsibility. Motherhood is tending to one’s children to survive and imbibe good moral values, good education, for them to become honorable members of society.

What were your pains as a mother? What do you consider as your greatest achievement as a mother?
My husband and I have eleven children. Raising them with my bank clerk-husband’s salary alone was impossible. While his parents helped us, it was painful to see my children, as their number grew, with barely enough of the necessities of life. I had to help along by selling children’s shoes to my relatives and friends and by bringing and selling food to my husband’s co-employees. (Once, I slipped in the market and hurt myself, which led to a miscarriage). Later I sold food in schools and dormitories. Then with borrowed funds, I started a restaurant, had boarders in the second floor of the house we rented in Ermita, while our family occupied the mezzanine above the restaurant. I sold the restaurant when my husband was assigned to open bank branches in Visayas and Mindanao. While based in Cebu City, I started a garment export business which became successful and I was awarded by the Department of Trade the very first Golden Shell Award for high export performance. But this we had to close when my husband, after 15 years in Cebu, was promoted and called back to the Manila head office. Cut-throat competition in the garment industry and high operating costs in Manila forced us to close the business. Thus it was because of my husband’s income (he taught in college after he became a CPA) supplemented by my own income that we were able to send to school all of our eleven children. This was our greatest achievemennt.

The names, ages and professions of our children are as follows:

Amado Jr., Branch Manager, CLO Funding Corporation (in US).
Roberto, Electrical Engineer, Business Consultant (in Cebu)
Carmen, BSC, AVP SM City Malls (in Alabang, Las Piñas, Bacoor and Dasmariñas, Cavite)
Josefina, Architect and Business Consultant (soon in US)
Victor, Home Improvement Contractor (in US)
Grace, Master of Education (in Cebu)
Eduardo, Entrepreneur (in Cebu)
Eugenio, Agriculturist, Entrepreneur (in Bicol)
Teodorica, BSC, Technical Fashion Designer (in US)
Ma. Lourdes, Master in Journalism, Head, Sun.Star Network Exchange (in Cebu)
Claro, BS Banking, Branch Manager, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., Mandaue City Branch (in Cebu)

How was it raising them?
Raising the boys was like training an army. They were always rowdy and sometimes had to be whipped in line while the girls were no problem except for some who had difficulty being left in school.

What was your unforgettable experience as a mother?
It was when my husband and I were on a tour of Europe and all of our eleven children were still small and they were all hospitalized with flu, with only a sister-in-law and a relative to attend to them. I could not sleep until they were discharged from the hospital.

Do you think you have done enough for your children ?
Yes, except for one, they are relatively better off income-wise with a family and a comfortable home of their own. But we, as parents, continue to be concerned with their safety and welfare, including those of our grand- and great grand children wherever they are.

What is the greatest treasure that you can leave behind for your children? Nothing material but the lessons of love, forgiveness, and honesty.

Was your husband a partner in rearing your children ?
Yes, as provider and disciplinarian, and as an example of what we wanted our children to be.

What advice or message can you give to mothers?
Our paramount role in this world is to have children, take care of them and teach them to become good Christians and citizens. We can help our husbands raise money as I did. But never should it diminish your responsibility for your children until they can take care of themselves. At the end, it is not how much money you have in the bank that you can leave to your children that counts. It is the quality of life of your children that you can be proud of even after you are gone.