Life throws its vagrancies at us sometimes. No matter how hard you try, things don't go the way you want them to. But somewhere down the line, trying hard pays off - that's when there's no time to regret, no time for tears, just time to count your blessings.
Josephine Domaol, secretary at Worldwide Management Consulting, Dubai, is one person who counts her blessings rather than her crosses.
"When I was little and children my age were playing make-believe families with dolls, I was playing such games (imagining) a real family life," she says.
In short, the Filipina saw very little of her parents when she was young.
"My little brother Nemesio, who is two years younger to me, and I had to part from my parents when I was in grade one (at the age of 5). Mama worked in a garment factory and Papa was a taxi driver in Manila. Because times were hard and they both worked long shifts to keep our family running, we lived with our paternal aunt in Masbate Province in the Philippines.
"I still remember, young as I was, counting down the days to Saturday every week as I awaited the arrival of my parents. The journey from Manila to Masbate took eight hours by boat back in (the mid-1980s) and they were often exhausted by the time they reached home."
But their eyes would light up the moment they saw the kids.
"When I think back, it seems like a sad childhood. With weekend parents, doing household chores and drawing water from the well soon after the long hours at school, we seldom had time to ourselves. But one thing I would dream of and the one question I would ask my parents every weekend was, ‘When will we all be together again forever?'
"Two years later, my parents announced they would take us to Manila with them. I was so excited! But after moving to the big city, we realised things hadn't changed much after all. My parents still worked odd hours and we stayed with my uncle and his wife.
"But finally, there came a day when my parents had (saved) enough for us to live with them. By that time, I was 13 and, being a good student, had great plans for my future - getting into university, in particular. For long had I been dreaming of the day when we would be a family again but nothing took precedence over this.
"As we settled down as a family, finally, in a little house of our own: having dinner together, going to school, chatting at bedtime - like regular families all over the world - fate dealt another blow.
"One morning, two years into this utopian life, Mama announced she was pregnant ... We were getting by on a very fine line financially and another baby, which meant additional expenses, would mean that changes had to be made.
"I was 15 then and still full of grand ideas about the future. Mama worked until her eighth month of pregnancy after which she stayed at home. I then quit school to work part-time at a garment factory to compensate for the loss of her income. At the time, I never thought I had a choice.
"Quitting school was tough and I cried some nights thinking about it and what my friends were doing then.
"But soon after the baby was born, when my income wasn't sufficient to help the family keep running, I quit the job and stayed at home to take care of the baby while Mama went back to work.
"We understood about sacrifices, even at a young age ... how sacrifices had to be made so one can (some day) live one's dreams. My dream was for us to remain a family and so I had no hesitation in sacrificing a lot for that."
Two years later, when her youngest brother could be safely admitted to a daycare, Domaol decided to pursue her dream of high school and college.
"I completed high school, but then realised that our family just couldn't afford college. There were the two boys to be put through school and we couldn't do it with just Mama and Papa's incomes. And I wanted Mama to take a break. She was getting on in years and I felt it was time she stayed at home.
"I remember the day when I took the entrance exam for the prestigious Polytechnic University of the Philippines. I knew I would be accepted - and I was - but it was with so much heartache because I knew that after the entrance exam, I wouldn't be going back (to study there)."
"Within a week of my acceptance letter, I applied to a big toy store in Manila that had advertised for trainees. They wanted candidates with at least two years of college. I applied anyway and went for the interview. ‘But you don't have the two years of university,' said the HR manager. ‘You don't have the knowledge that's gained at university.'
"I told him something I had read a long time ago: ‘Knowledge, Sir, is a record of experience and a product of history of which reasoning and belief, no less than action and passion, are essential materials.
"Don't disqualify me just because I lack those two years at an institution. Give me a chance as a trainee and then if you don't find me fit for the job, let me go'."
Domaol's earnestness got her the job and two years later she moved to Dubai to pursue further opportunities.
"This is where I met my husband, Rory, and today we have a beautiful 5-year-old daughter, Camille.
"Even though I may not be a degree holder, life has presented me with greater opportunities. Now I have a wonderful family of my own, a daughter I would sacrifice anything for and not a second of regret!"
