Here is a tribute to my mom, flight purser Wacky Balbuena. Growing up as a child of a flight attendant, there was a lot of talk about how much time is sacrificed. Irregular and unpredictable schedules caused FA moms to miss some life milestones, may it be holidays, birthdays, or graduation. The stereotype of ‘lumaki sa yaya’, and not having a close relationship with moms in these field is mainly due to the feeling that “she’s always leaving me.”; However, in spite of missing her, there wasn’t necessarily any grudge when it came to her absence.
Back in the day, communication wasn’t as accesible as tapping into Facebook Messenger, Viber, or Skype. We relied heavily on telephone cards to contact each other.
I remember one uneventful Christmas Eve from my childhood that my dad and I had because she was away for a flight. I was laying on his stomach and we were out on the porch. I remember how I always took the last shirt my mom wore before she left for a long flight and sleeping with it in my arms cause it smelled like her.
I never felt that the stereotypes applied to me because mom made sure that her presence was felt whenever she would be around. She always made it a point to make up for the times she wasn’t there. These little things… little moments that may seem miniscule to others, but things that I cherish dearly.
Flying with my purser mom
The first few times I flew with her, I would call her Purser, but after an FS pointed out how I shouldn’t be so serious I would sometimes call her “Ma” in the galley. On duty she was never overbearing or nosy, she just lets me do my job and she does hers.
On the other hand, layovers are a different story. I flew with her a lot and I’m glad I got to do that while I could. We were able to go to London, Sapporo, and Dubai, to name a few. We would go on tour, and since she knows how much my pay grade is, KKB kami. There was also one time in Brisbane where we binge watched My Love From The Star, yes, all 21 episodes. That was her first KDrama, and what a monster I created now she’s probably on her 200th!
My mom is very charismatic, a lot of people who have interacted with her could attest to that. She has really good memory. She memorizes birthdays, names of the relatives her colleagues have asked her to pray for, and a lot of other things. She’s a cool Purser and a cool mom. She’s kaladkarin, if a set of crew are game to go on tour, she would definetely be down for that.. ehem I heard she’s been to Stonehenge over three times! She’s a delight to be with on tour. Her energy radiates as her she always brings the bubbly and “game tara!” attitude – something very refreshing.
She is open to change.
Her beliefs can adapt to the new information she has been presented and she never judges. So no immediate accusation of “talking back” and instead she’ll try to understand how you’d voice your opinion. It’s rare to find a gem like she is.
With the many qualities my mom has, one of the most valuable things that I have learned from her is how to be independent. She instilled this quality for me to build up on, a foundation of sorts. That independence is such a vital factor to tackle a plethora of things I have gone through, and yet to experience.
Another is to be grateful and my job is one of the many things I’m most grateful for. I’m glad I never for a moment took it for granted.
Message to mom
Hi Ma!
The relationships I have in my life have pretty solid foundations and I’m very grateful for that. Because of our relationship, I never felt that you weren’t around enough growing up. Thank you for teaching me that time spent with someone is more about quality over quantity, I miss flying with you, being your roommate, and you making me libre on layovers. I’m glad we were able to explore the world during layovers while we still could. I’m looking forward to the day that we could do that again.
P. S. Let’s make sure to take more pictures in uniform, masyado tayo excited mag layover eh.
Love,
Kim
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