How the new generation pays it forward to the mothers in their lives

THE month of May is known for many celebrations, such as Labor Day, Flores de Mayo, Mental Health Awareness, and most notably, Mother’s Day.

Mother’s Day is a time for giving, a time to show appreciation, love, and gratitude to the women who have done so much for us. While the celebration typically lasts just one day, it doesn’t have to be confined to this timeframe. This new generation believes that giving back to the key women in our lives should extend beyond one day and transcend our everyday lives.

In Photo: Lauren Nazal and her mother | Photo Courtesy: Lauren Nazal 

For this generation giving back starts with the little things. Lauren Nazal likes to show it by expressing her love languages through gift-giving and spending quality time with her mother. “I find it most fulfilling when I cook for my mother or just spend time with her at a cafe,” she said. 

She also thinks that as simple as packing a lunch or baking a snack is another way to show appreciation to her mother, “I also make sure to make some food that she requests kasi I know that’ll make her happy,” she said. 

Doing these things for our mothers shouldn’t be just done on Mother’s Day, Lauren thinks that we should always show our appreciation to our mothers every day no matter how small or big it is. 

On the other hand, Lauren isn’t the only one with this same mindset as Joshua Pecadizo thinks that appreciation goes a long way to show his mother the gratitude she deserves. For him, giving back means to excel in school, “The best way for me to do so is to get good grades and not to involve myself in any kind of trouble,” he shared. 

In Photo: Joshua Pecadizo and Mrs. Pecadizo | Photo Courtesy: Joshua Pecadizo

Joshua is a firm believer that showing gratitude for mothers shouldn’t only be a “one-time thing,” “It should be consistent and sincere,” he said. 

Furthermore, children whose mothers are far away from them still find ways to give back. Louisse Kalingag’s mother resides in France as an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) and her way to show her mother gratitude is by using her academics. “I do my best in school,” she said. 

In Photo: Louisse Kalingag and Ms. Kalingag | Photo Courtesy: Louisse Kalingag

Another thing is that Louisse refrains from asking her mother to buy her material things; she believes that by doing so her mother can save money and use those savings for herself. 

Photo Courtesy: Ches 

For the most part, giving back means you have to splurge or buy something special to show appreciation or express acts of service, but the thing is it doesn’t have to be monetary and it can simply be through kind words. 

“I think the [kindness that mothers give] doesn’t need to be paid by money,” Chesly Donato said. He thinks that the most important way to “pay it forward” to our mothers is by simply saying I love you to them. 

With reports from Katelyn Julianne Miralles