Hello Hive world! Hello Philippines!
Knowing Hive is like having a new journal notebook with unlimited pages to write on and a community that can be a support system to my life’s journey as a teacher, a wife, a mother of a Type 1 Diabetic child, and now a Blogger.
I am not so into posting on social media because I am not confident and I am afraid of being ridiculed and judged. When I was at a very young age, I would often choose to be alone than to be with others, feeling down and insecure. I have these feelings of inferiority complex and every day I am struggling against it. That is why I am so overwhelmed and happy to know that there is this platform where I can write and share my thoughts without judgment, without the fear of being not accepted.
Thank you so much to these people who passionately spared their time in sharing to us the Hive. To 
More grateful I am for your warm welcome to newbies like me. Please allow me to introduce myself.
I am Mommy Jane, 37 years old from one of the mountainous towns of the Province of Cebu, Philippines. I am a mother of two pretty little girls, Jewel and Janneah. My mother was a fish vendor and my father was a retired school utility worker(janitor). I am a Junior High School teacher. I was teaching for 2 years in Cawayan, Masbate where I need to ride six-hour travel by Roro Ship from our place. I was transferred to Tabogon, Cebu 8 years ago so all in all I am now ten years and counting in teaching by God’s grace.
I am currently teaching now in the nearest school, Ilihan Integrated School, an approximately 15-minute bus ride.
Back then, life was so hard. But no matter how hard it was, I always kept in my mind that everything will come to pass. Even though my parents were financially unstable, they were able to send us to school from the eldest sibling up to the third one. But since I am the youngest, when it was my turn to go to college I had to stop going to school because they were already old to work and cannot afford it anymore.
I worked as a housemaid in one of our neighbors for a year and applied as a sales lady in a Department Store to earn money because that time my mother became sick. She died of type 2 diabetes complications for the money I earned was not enough to buy her medicines. It was so heartbreaking to think that I have a lot of plans and dreams for my mother to see and experience but it cannot be done anymore.
So many storms in life to conquer. Gladly, storms don’t last a lifetime. After 4 years of being stopped from going to school, I was able to apply as a working student and continued my 4-year teaching course. I graduated a Bachelor in Secondary Major in Mathematics and now I am happily married with two kids.
Another storm that came into my life was a Super Typhoon. Have you ever heard of the Super Typhoon named Yolanda (Haiyan) that hit the Philippines year 2013 and killed thousands of people? Our place was one hit by its eye. Thank God there were no casualties recorded in our town, but many houses and infrastructures were destroyed. One of them was our very own house. The only part of the house that was still there was our floor.
And look at that denim skirt (hung on the wall) in the picture. Haha, it’s mine, it was the only thing in our house that was not flown by the great wind of Yolanda.
After that day, weeks of living without electricity and scarcity of food were felt by everybody. Many of the people did beg for food from the passers-by. We were so grateful that our government helped us provide our daily food for that time through relief goods. Thankful also to the other countries all over the world who sent their help and prayers for us to recover from the great devastation. It just showed the goodness of humanity in the world.
But though how sad the situation we were facing, we Filipinos never forget to wear our smile despite everything that happened. Being resilient is the key.
This is the worst storm I ever encountered in my life. My eldest daughter, Jewel Jael was diagnosed the last year 2020 with Type 1 Diabetes when she was 5 years old. I do not know what the reason is, how, and why did she get that disease. All I know is that we are not ready for this stuff. Me and my husband we’re so broken upon knowing our daughter’s condition. Until now I am still trying to cope. I need to know more about how this disease works and how should my daughter live with it.
As a mother, I am hands-on in taking care of my daughters, especially the eldest. Aside from that, we don’t have a nanny for them. I'm the only one who knows how to inject insulin. I must monitor her blood sugar now and then because we cannot afford to have a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM). I have lots of sleepless nights and days of overcoming fears and dealing with the anxiety that the situation has given me. There were some times that I would like to give up because I don’t know what to do anymore but my love for my daughter is greater.
I followed groups on Facebook and other social media that talk about Type 1 Diabetes which can give me ideas and help me educate myself in handling the disease and how to take care of my daughter. I am learning each day and trying to learn more. Thanks to this platform, now I can share my heavy-hearted feelings and vent myself through writing. Hoping to find a community here where I can share the story/journey of my little T1D Warrior and learn from others’ experiences also.
Eating
One of my stress relievers is eating. Funny but I think I am not alone in stress eating or may I say “Eating the stress!” hehe. My co-workers will know if I am stressed because they will eventually see me eating more, which I need to control sometimes. After all, I am already gaining more weight and is not good for my health.
Cooking
When I was married and became a mother, I always tried my best to cook the best meal I can for my loved ones because it is one of my ways of showing my love for them.
Traveling
Aside from teaching which is my profession and taking care of my daughters as a mother, I do like to travel. But because of our situation, I cannot travel alone, LOL. We have to travel as a family and only to nearby places. But I like to unwind and distress myself from all the negativities of life brought by traveling.
I may not be able to travel to another country, yet I can experience and see many places by reading the various blogs and stories in Hive.
Thank you everyone for taking the time in reading my intro blog. May you find it worthy of your time. I am very excited to write my next blog and be an inspiration to someone that has the same story as mine. See you!!
