Becoming a parent is really a life-changing event — not only do your priorities get realigned; your perspective also widens and shifts away from yourself, to your children. This was the gist of Alwyn Uytingco’s post two days ago on Instagram, as he reflected on his life as a dad to two beautiful girls.
The former actor wrote a heartfelt birthday greeting for his firstborn daughter Athena Mori on the occasion of her fourth birthday, accompanied by a series of photos of the sweet little girl from when she was a baby up to now.
“Lord, gusto ko lang magpasalamat sa buhay na ibinigay niyo sa panganay namin. Sa’yo nagbago ang pananaw namin mag-asawa sa buhay at kung paano namin nakikita ang kinabukasan. Thank you Lord, at kahit pagod o puyat, nagkakaroon ako ng sigla sa tuwing nakikita ko mga anak ko na masayang sumasalubong sakin,” Alwyn wrote.
Alwyn and his wife, former actress Jennica Garcia, have been leading a quiet life away from the limelight since they got married secretly in 2014, and concentrated on raising Mori, born the following year, and another daughter nicknamed Alessi, now 1.
Alwyn and Jennica have been very hands-on in raising their daughters, going on picnics at a nearby park, potty training her at nine months old, and shunning plastic toys at home.
In the words of Alwyn himself, “Ginawa niyang career ang pagiging mommy at talagang karir siya.”
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Since the Uytingcos are also advocates of natural parenting, they’ve exposed Mori from the beginning to books, and regularly read these with her — a ritual the bright-eyed girl has become accustomed to. Thus, when baby Alessi was born in June of 2018, Jennica admits the transition was quite difficult.
One time, she recalls losing her temper as she was trying to split her time between her two daughters.
“Last night, I raised my voice. ‘Mori naman, sana makinig ka!’” she told her eldest, but soon regretted it. She apologized to her daughter for the incident.
“[Mori] is also in transition. I am the adult [and] I should have known [better],” she wrote on Instagram.
CONTINUE READING BELOWwatch nowFatherhood is equally important as the role a mother plays, and sometimes it can be overwhelming, too. In times like those, Alwyn revealed in his recent post that his children are his stress relievers.
“Dahil din sa kanila, nababawasan din ang anxiety ko kapag sobrang stuck lang sa bahay at walang ginagawa. Dahil sa mga pagkakataong ito, pinapa-realize sakin ni Lord na dapat mag-spend ako ng mas maraming time sa pamilya natin,” he continued.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOWThe days are long but the years are short, so they say, when one is a parent — and Alwyn knows this. He ended his message for his eldest with a heartfelt greeting.
“Mga simpleng laro at kulitan ay nagbubunga ng mga memories na habang buhay kong ite-treasure, dahil alam ko na pag malaki na kayo ni Alessi, sobrang mami-miss ko ito. I love you so much Mori. Happy Birthday, anak!”
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