With her only son Aki having just turned six years old, single mom LJ Reyes has come to accept something she’s been trying to deny.
“I realized something that I have been delaying the past months or should I say the past year! Aki is now 6 years old, and he is not in any way a baby anymore!” she told theAsianparent with a laugh. “I realized that it is time for me to share him to the world and the world to him!”
She recently took to Instagram to mark her son’s birthday but her biggest wish for him is that he’ll grow up to be a godly man. “I want him to realize his mission according to God's will. Because I know whatever that is, it is according to the passion that God put in his heart.”
His current passion revolves around sports. Specifically, basketball and soccer.
"I want him to realize his mission according to God's will."
Six years ago, when she first held her little boy in her arms, LJ recalls not being to take it all in at first. “I was under epidural and was very tired and very sleepy. It was when I was in my room already and the nurse brought him in that I took a good look at him. And he was the most beautiful thing!” gushed the mom. “He was and still is like an angel. It's like love bundled into one chubby little Chinese baby! I still feel the same way when I watch him sleep.”
Fast forward to the present and the 28-year-old actress has earned critical acclaim, having just won prestigious acting awards for her role in “Anino sa Likod ng Buwan”. But despite her thriving career, she knows what her true priority is. When asked how she balances it all, she told us that it helps to “know which one you should be putting first, and all of it will follow,” she shares, acknowledging that it is tough to manage time and your physical body.
Next page: LJ opens up about parenting struggles and how she manages it all alone
“Being prayerful and having discipline” are the two traits she considers most important for single moms. She emphasizes knowing one’s priorities and shares that, for her, it’s making her faith her top priority, even above her son. Work simply comes in at third place.
Despite their separation, Aki's dad, actor Paulo Avelino, remains an active presence in their life. LJ and Paulo met on the set of a reality show on GMA-7, which launched both their careers.
LJ's knows that being a single parent means working twice as hard.
“Yes, it is impossible to raise your child with a comfortable lifestyle without working, but it just means that you should know when to work and when to pause. It actually takes a lot of practice,” assures LJ. “You don't get good at balancing it overnight! I know I am not yet an expert on it, but each phase is different. You also have to feel and know the needs of your child.”
“All these struggles become easier with a good support group!”
But how about when it all becomes too much? How does she cope with it all?
“On the days when it gets confusing, I remind myself that time is of the essence. I can never take back time, so would I want to lose time for Aki or lose time for work? Definitely not Aki! But of course, I work diligently, too,” she laughed.
“Parenting isn't parenting without struggles,” she continued. “Every phase of childhood is different. And in each phase it is not only the child who learns.” She goes on to say how parents learn alongside their children through out these different phases, but no two parenting journeys are exactly the same.
“All these struggles become easier with a good support group!” she exclaims. “Lots and lots of prayers! Parents usually learn from trial and error. There is no right way or wrong way to do it.”
READ: Mom meets mom: Single mom Maita meets married mom Jenny
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