Whether you drive your own car or take public transportation to and from your office, most Metro-Manila based working moms have one sentiment — the heavy traffic is taking a toll on their personal time.
EDSA Traffic has become too heavy that it makes headline news, and would even comprise all stories in the first gap of early evening news programs. And while it would have been a different story if the dashing Atom Araullo is the one reporting, one thing remains – the traffic flow is just sooo frustrating.
My former officemate even said “hindi ka pa nagsastart magtrabaho stressed-out ka na.” And why not? You just spent the whole morning hurrying up to leave your house, and then spend the next one-and a half to two hours plying EDSA looking for alternate routes, or, lining up at the MRT patiently waiting for your turn to enter one of the few working bagons. Come 5 PM, you rinse and repeat the whole process.
So now what?
Moms now have in their smartphone apps that advise them about traffic flow. But hello? Do you have a choice? When you work in Makati and live in Quezon City you only have three sensible routes to choose from: EDSA, C-5, or the Manila Route that would rival the isaw being sold at your neighborhood barbecue-han. All three routes are jampacked as soon as the clock strikes 4:30.
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Related Posts:
- What Pinay Mommies can do while stuck in EDSA/C5/Metro Manila Heavy Traffic, or the MRT Queue
- Are you a member of Club 501?
- Legitimate ways to Earn from Home
- A Busy Mom’s Guide to Preparing Meals from her Family
- Weekend Activities with the Toddler
- Seven Ways to Save on Grocery Shopping
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So what do moms do? If they can afford, and their bosses don’t mind, they become members of the HONDA Group (lucky for me XB is like this). And no this is not a group of mothers driving the same vehicle brand. This is a group of mothers leaving HONDA-dot. Much like members of Club 501, I mentioned in this post. By doing so, they avoid at least 15 minutes of heavy traffic because as we all know, not all employees can afford to leave on-the-dot.
Anyway, going back to the sentiment about EDSA robbing me of my family time, I earlier thought that I might just be over-reacting to it and that traffic is really a way of life here in the metropolis. But I found out I am not alone. Most moms like me shudder at the thought that their four-hour back and forth commute could have been spent helping the children with their assignments, or cuddling with them in the morning. It could have been spent with the husband via a date night in the couch. Pero wala ng movies o nice shows, kasi A & A or worst puro UFC nalang ang maabutan mo sa sobrang traffic!
And when we get home, we realize that we are not just robbed of time, we are also robbed of the energy to be the patient and cheerful mom that we have to be. That is if the kids are still awake when we get home.
So what am I getting into? This is not a hate post for MMDA Chairman Tolentino. I am definitely not a fan, but I know the man is doing what he can. What can you do when you only have two major highways to service that voluminous amount of cars right? All I am saying is we, mothers should put matters into our own hands. Maybe we could study the option of moving houses near our work (not that easy but not impossible), we can find another job nearer to our place of residence, or we could start considering work from home options. And whether we decide to stay or move on, there is one thing we should do, shrug that mommy guilt off because we are just doing what’s best for our families.
Hug the kids again, and till next post!
Photo credits: Roy Patrick Tan Via Flickr.com
