The second oldest profession in the world..

...is motherhood. At least acccording to Erma Bombec, an American humorist who made a living out of writing about the joys and pains of a domesticated life. I first came across her work in high school when our lit teacher gave introduced her writing to us. To this day, I find her works as one of the wittiest, most intelligent writings I have ever come across. I guess it is because, whether you are a mother or not, there is a universal truth in each of her writings.
Here are some of her most memorable, if not downright funny, words of wisdom:

1. Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy and complaining about the shadow over my feet, I'd have cherished every moment of it and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was to be my only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

2. There is possibly no guilt in this world to compare with leaving a sick child with a babysitter. The sitter could be Mother Teresa and you would still feel rotten. There is something about having your child throw ( pwede din grow) up without you that is difficult to l ive with.

3. If I had my life to live over again, I would have talked less and listened more.

4. Giving birth is little more than a set of muscular contractions granting passage of a child. Then the mother is born.

5. It is not until you become a mother that your judgment slowly turns to compassion and understanding.

6. When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, "I used everything you gave me."

7. Children make your life important.

8. There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child.

9. I love my mother for all the times she said absolutely nothing . . . .for her silence during the times I fell flat on my face, made a lousy judgment, and took a stand that I had to pay dearly for . . . Thinking back on it all, it must have been the most difficult part of mothering she ever had to do: knowing the outcome, yet feeling she had no right to keep me from charting my own path. I thank her for all her virtues, but mostly for never once having said, “I told you so.”