At one point, I had the curse perk of frequent travel.
Week 1 in Metro Manila.
Week 2 somewhere else.
Alternate weeks. Alternate beds. Alternate lives.
I was able to fly around the country thanks to my work.
Met so many people, interacted with different walks of life, and honed my mastery in stakeholder management.
For a time, it felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be.
Then one early morning, while I was over 500 kilometers away from my family, overseeing ingress for an event in Cebu, my phone rang.
It was my wife. Her voice was shaking.
Our little one had slipped in the bathtub, our one-year-young son, head first.
She was alone.
Naturally, she panicked.
I did too, on the inside.
Everything around me, the checklist, the stage lights, the people asking for final approvals, just disappeared.
I wasn’t there. I couldn’t help. I couldn’t even hold them.
And then it hit me.
I felt helpless.
And I was reminded, what am I really working for?
If I’m going to be away this much, why not do it in Singapore, Australia, or Canada?
Five times the salary. Better benefits. Maybe even better weather.
But there I was, in Cebu, not abroad, not earning dollars.
Missing moments his peso can never buy back.
Priorities change.
In the greater scheme of things, I won’t even remember the event I was working for.
But missing my son’s milestones, that I’ll remember.
That I’ll regret.
You can’t take back the first five years of your child’s life.
You only get one chance to be present.
While I’m grateful for all the opportunities, priorities must be set straight.
Any man can be a father. A provider.
But not everyone can be a dad.
Fellow dads, we can always go back to chasing a career.
For now, let me chase my dream of being a present dad.
Now play “Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda” by Brian McKnight.