Saturday, October 13, 2007 Flying moms By Janette Huang-Teves Mom-about-town
MANILA--It's 8 a.m. and ten-month old baby Catherine is happy and content being breastfed by her mom, Claudette Enrique-Cuyugan, who, just four hours ago, came from work in Singapore.
In Davao, 32-year-old mom Melanie Jorge-Yap drops off her children to school. The day before, she was working in San Francisco, USA.
It's just a typical morning in the busy lives of these international flight attendant moms.
Thirty-four-year-old Claudette or Ditdit is a licensed nurse who graduated from San Pedro College in Davao City. She is married to Capt. Gene Cuyugan, a pilot of Eva Air based in Taiwan. Six years after their marriage, they were finally blessed with their own bundle of joy, Catherine, in 2006.
On the other hand, Melanie or Lani is a Mass Communications graduate of Ateneo de Davao University. Married to businessman Leo Yap, they have two adorable children, Izza Francheska, age 4 and Louis Francis, age 3.
I got to chat with these two Dabawenyas and found out how they enjoy the best of both worlds--motherhood and an exciting international career.
When did you start working as a flight attendant? What is the name of your airline?
Ditdit: I started working in 1996 at Grand Air then in 1998, I moved to U-Land, a Taipei-based airline that operated in the Philippines. From 1999 until the present, I am connected with Cebu Pacific Air as chief cabin attendant.
Lani: I began working at Philippine Airlines after graduating from college.
What do you think are the characteristics of a flight attendant that aided you in becoming a better mother?
Ditdit: As a mother, I need to know how to anticipate the needs of my child, the same way that I anticipate the needs of the guests in my flight. By being alert and ready, I can easily attend to their needs. Patience is also very important since we're dealing with people and, of course, time management.
Lani: Being patient, disciplined and having an eye for details. When you're a flight attendant, you follow certain procedures on duty and in a way when I deal with my kids, I tend to be systematic.
How do you manage your time between work and being a wife/mom?
Ditdit: I set my priorities and focus on the immediate task at hand. I usually work around 8 hours a day. I am very hands-on at home. After my flight, I spend the remaining time raising my child and attending to the needs of the family. We also visit places like malls, if schedule permits.
Lani: I really make sure that when I'm in Davao, I'm an all-out mom. I pick up the kids in school and whenever I do my errands, I tag them along with me. I play with them. Watch their favorite cartoons together. I read them stories and lull them to sleep. With my husband sometimes, we'll have dinner and have some coffee after but we make sure that we don't stay out late because the kids sleep with us.
How often in a month's time do you get to spend time with your kids?
Ditdit: I go home everyday. You see, whenever we fly international (they call it regional flights in Cebu Pacific because we fly within Asia only), we don't stay overnight. We usually have one hour ground stop and fly back to Manila. Our longest flight is Korea, which is only around 4 hours that's why we can have a turn-around flight.
Lani: It depends on my schedule, minimum of two times a month, sometimes, almost every week. I get to stay in Davao for about three to five days. Six days is the maximum.
How do you keep in touch with your kids?
Ditdit: I always call before the flight and when I arrive at my destination, I try to make another phone call to let them know I'm fine and also to check on things at home.
Lani: I keep in touch through mobile phones when I'm in Manila. I call them most of the time. And when I'm abroad, I just text my husband to check how they are doing or sometimes call them using phone cards.
How does your husband manage the household while you are away?
Ditdit: My husband is based in Taiwan and is usually in Manila only eight-ten days a month. When he is at home, he takes care of our child.
Lani: Amazingly, my husband is coping quite well and I never have worries with regard to that matter. He sees to it that he spends quality time with the kids.
Who are the other people who help take care of your family when you are at work?
Ditdit: My mother, Baby, is truly a blessing to our child. She moved to Manila from Davao to help me raise Catherine. We also have a helper at home.
Lani: My mother-in-law, Mama Rosing, is really a big help and I'm grateful for that and of course, my yayas who have been with us for a long time.
What do you love about your work?
Ditdit: Although the work itself is almost the same routine, you get to meet and work with different people and go to various places everyday. It's not the usual 8-5 job. We have flights wherein you sign in around 3:00 a.m. and finish before noontime, so you still have the entire afternoon to do other things. This is also the only job that I know of wherein you can exchange your flight duty with days off and vice versa.
Lani: I love my work because I get to travel for free. I meet people from all walks of life, experience diverse cultures and taste varied cuisines. My schedule is not really hard to manage. It doesn't usually take me away from my family for long. I'm usually home even before they miss me.
Where do you fly?
Ditdit: I fly to all the domestic and international destinations like Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei and Xiamen.
Lani: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Honolulu, Vancouver, Sydney and all international PAL routes.
What are the perks of your job that your family can enjoy?
Ditdit: We get to travel for free. We've brought Catherine to Singapore and we also visit Davao once in a while.
Lani: They can travel for free and pay only travel tax for domestic and international flights. They can also have 50% and 75% discount plane fare for all routes wherever they want to go.
What do you think is the difference between your job and other parents who work overseas?
Ditdit: I get to go home everyday so I'm not really "away".
Lani: It's basically the same. We only get to see our families more often than they do.
Until how long do you intend to work as a flight attendant?
Ditdit: I do not have any definite plans yet, but as always, my family takes top priority when I make decisions.
Lani: I'll give myself five more years and then we'll see...
Finally, what is your advice for moms who are away from the family for work or have the same work as you do?
Ditdit: Always spend quality time with your family and know your priorities. Focus on the work at hand and remain in control. Be professional at work and loving at home. Working moms should love what they are doing. They don't have to drag themselves to work everyday. Make sure that you have somebody that you trust (i.e., parents, siblings) to watch over your kids whenever you are away.
Lani: Being away from your family is the saddest thing to feel but when you don't have to feel guilty being apart from them. Kids in this generation are smarter; they understand and believe that you are working for their own good.
(For your comments and suggestions, you may e-mail me at mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com. Visit http://www.mom-about-town.blogspot.com)
