Giving a new meaning to Independence Day, we literally flew the coop by migrating to New Zealand via Singapore Airlines. That was a year ago, 12 June 2009.

It all began in the Autumn of 2009, when we were blessed with an opportunity to have a three-week holiday in Auckland as part of the Fernandez Family Reunion. We had a full itinerary of trips to Kelly Tartlon’s, Mission Bay, Goat Island, MOTAT (Museum of Transport and Technology), Auckland Zoo, The Candy Factory, Hamilton Gardens, Auckland Museum, Paradice, and Snow Planet.

When we went back to Cebu, we decided to move our family to NZ, along with the invaluable support of our families. It took us a whole year to get our papers and ourselves ready to file our applications. A few days later, our case officers called us separately, asking for a few more supporting documents. Ten days after we submitted our applications, our visas were granted: an international student visa for Romil, a multiple-entry work visa for me, and domestic student visas for our kids, Raj and Elle. The catch was that we had only a month to give away and sell things we would not be able to bring, bid our goodbyes to the important people in our lives, buy what we needed, and pack luggages and balikbayan boxes (for shipping).

Arriving in winter did not deter us from doing things as planned: hubby started attending his classes on 15 June and our kids followed suit the following day. We immediately applied for jobs and got accepted for part time work by the same company, a contact centre, a couple of weeks later. Soon after, we joined KBNZ (organisation of Bisaya-speaking Filipinos in NZ) and the NZ-Filipino Santo Nino Devotees. Auckland welcomed us with wide, open arms and we embraced it back with gusto. Despite getting caught by heavy rain sans an umbrella or rain jacket or having to do walk-a-thons to catch the train or bus, as well as to ensure we wouldn’t be late for work or in hubby’s case, for school. Despite the bed bugs and flea bites, too.

By August, we were able to move out of my sister-in-law’s house and move into a two-bedroom flat that was just a five-minute walk away. With a lot of assistance from my sis-in-law’s family and Cebuano friends, of course.

The following month, running after my preschool aged niece and nephew whom I was babysitting then, I accidentally skipped the last step down the stairs, fell hard, and sprained both ankles. Thanks to ACC (Accident Compensation Commission), I was given free 20 physiotherapy sessions and was able to walk properly again after six weeks.

Hubby and I co-hosted the First KBNZ Family Day and had a jolly good time. We revisited MOTAT, taking advantage of the free entrance for Auckland residents. We went on a pilgrimage to Puhoi. In the summer, we had picnics in nearby parks and even those as far as Wenderholm, Tawharanui, and Pakiri. Strawberry picking and eating ice cream with fresh strawberries were certainly a treat. Our wedding anniversary, birthdays, Christmas, and Sinulog were celebrated in NZ for the first time.

Romil’s classes ended on 15 March and we submitted our applications to the Immigration Office for his graduate-job search work permit, my work permit, and the renewal of our kids’ domestic student visas. It took Immigration, however, two weeks to assign case officers – the actual day our visas expired. At 5:00pm the following day, though, they were granted. Whew! Heaps of thanks to the prayers of our families, relatives, and friends, as well as to the support of our employers.

God is good and continuously blesses our family. Hubby graduated and gave the speech in behalf of his class at the ceremonies. We have good jobs, our kids excel in school, and loving relatives and wonderful friends surround us.

Time sure went by so fast and a whole year has passed. It is with great enthusiasm still that we look forward to all that life in NZ will bring.

I am a Moonstruck Mom

Yes, I agree, Cher did a great performance in the movie “Moonstruck, ” wherein she landed her first and only Oscar as Best Actress. But that was in 1987. Two, long decades ago. Although my real name is Cherry, there is no co-relation whatsover between the title of this entry and Cher or the movie.

Long before that, there has been the Moonstruck Band that plays pop, rock-a-billy, blues, country, and Latin dance music. I never actually heard of them until I got several queries as to why I named my company “Moonstruck” [Marketing]. They were, I hear, a hit, back when I was way too young yet to care to listen to them.

So why am I a Moonstruck Mom? Well, I’m no typical mom. I cook, but I’d really much rather not, and wish I had a personal chef adept with international cuisine. I’d rather eat cakes and pastries than bake them. I want a neat house, but prefer to only lift a finger to point to what needs to be picked up and cleaned. I can verily thread a needle, but that’s as far as I go.

On the other hand, I’m a devoted wife and I actually fall in love with my husband over and over again with each year we’ve been married. To spark things up, I keep him second-guessing –almost all the time.

I adore my two kids who constantly make me want and strive to become a better parent, a better person. After all, becoming a mom is the best thing that has happened to me. My family motivates me, inspires me. With them I find true love, joy, and peace.

And yet, like those who get awed by the full moon, I get a little crazy sometimes.

If I Could Rule the World

If I could rule the world, my kids wouldn’t have to suffer.

A little over a month ago my husband’s eldest sister and her family migrated to New Zealand. My kids “lost” their 8 cousins (yes, 8!), their bestfriends. Raj, my 6-year-old son, in particular, has been inseparable with his cousin, Mikel, who’s only 7 months older, practically since birth. They loved doing things together, sharing stories and adventures, swapping toys, clothes, and what-have-you’s.

We recently watched the “Brother Bear 2″ video and towards the end Raj went up to me and said with teary eyes, “I wish Kuya Mikel and I were like we used to be. But we cannot.” I hugged him tight and cried. I couldn’t stop from doing so. He didn’t see my tears, though.
Elle, my 2 years and 10 months old daughter, doesn’t fully understand the situation and looks for her cousins Maia (4 years old) and Lilo (2 years old). Much less, why her grandmother had to go NZ to help her aunt’s family settle in and took 2 months to get back. She exasperately asked me “Why” almost everyday, and afterwards, again why both her paternal grandparents left for the US to help out my sister-in-law (and her husband) who gave birth last March, to help take care of their (then) 1-year-old daughter and home.

Two weeks ago she had cough, colds, on-and-off fever, and (bronchial) asthma. She hasn’t been eating much and has been frustrated with about feeling uncomfortable and not being able to do anything about it, and much more about not being able to do what she normally does.

If I could rule the world, I’d make it so there was such a thing as teleportation so we could just go to NZ every weekend or have any of my children’s cousins from NZ or relatives from Manila visit us often. If I could rule the world, none of my children would get sick or I could just switch places with them in a snap.

But alas, I do not and cannot rule the world. I can only pray and give them all the love and time I can; hug and kiss them and help them feel better. One step at a time.

Soon after their love story began, when my mom was crowned muse of the Ateneo College of Law and my dad was appointed her consort.

The Name Game

Maria Dulce Mercedita Milagros Cervantes Thelmo-Fernandez.

Can you say that in one breath, complete with Spanish accent? What a mouthful, huh?

It all began eight years and eight months after my parents' marital bliss. Such a long honeymoon. Based on the calendar, I was born on the Feast of the Sweet Name of Mary, the day historians thought the Virgin Mother was given her name. And so my parents and dear ol' grandmama (my dad's mom, who always wished she had a daughter after having four boys) agreed to name me Maria Dulce. But sneaky grandmama took the chance of adding names to the list when my mother's lower half body was paralyzed after giving birth to me as side effect of her allergy to anesthesia. Mercedita, she thought, would be a wonderful addition, as it was a name she would given her own daughter, had she been blessed with one. Milagros, her namesake, she believed, would complete my name, since I was her spitting image.

Imagine the horror of trying to squeeze in all that in the boxes alloted for my name in the NCEE (now NCAE) exam papers. I had to simply add Mercedita and Milagros to my middle initials.

Dulce was the name classmates and teachers called me from preschool to high school in Poveda. They're the only ones who still call me by that name. When I got to UP Manila, I could not stand the mispronounciation others made of Dulce as "dolsee" and "dolse". It was murder, I tell you. So I opted to use my family nickname, Cherry, instead.

So where did Cherry come from? According to my mom, she originally wanted to give me the nickname, Candy, but her eldest sister, who came over to visit and help her out with infant care, thought people might mispronounce the name as "kan-dee, kende, or keendee". My aunt then started calling me Cherry and soon everyone followed suit. A good thing, at that. Cherry suits me better -- I can be sweet or sour.

As for Cervantes, that was my mom's maiden name. My grandfather originated from Surigao and settled in Cagayan de Oro, although the family name supposedly hails from Pangasinan.

Thelmo is my dad's family name. It's original spelling is actually without an "h". Dear old grandmama added the "h" years after her children were born to distinguish their blood line from the rest. Go figure.

I got married to a Fernandez. No, no relation to most Fernandezes. They are just too many of them out there. That's one reason I hyphenate. I don't refer to myself or like being referred to as Cherry Fernandez. That's just not me. There are three other Cherry Fernandezes in Cebu alone. It's that common a name. Moreover, I'm fond of my maiden name and marrying a month before I turned 30, more people know me as Cherry Thelmo. Hyphenating is also my way of acknowledging my marriage and giving respect to my hubby.

So if you're about to have a child and are starting to think of possible names already, be kind. Think ahead, like when your child will have to write his or her name in school; how others might make fun of his or her name. Remember, it is really all in the name.