In this heartfelt episode of POPRICA, we sit down with beauty queen Miriam Quiambao-Roberto, a mom who proves that it’s not about age, but about love. Miriam shares her inspiring journey of becoming a first-time mom at 43 and welcoming her second miracle baby at 46.
Join us as Miriam opens up about the realities of motherhood in your 40s, including the joys, struggles, and everything in between. Whether you’re a mom, a mother in waiting, or simply looking for some inspiration, Miriam’s story is a testament to the strength and resilience of motherhood.
Join us as Miriam opens up about the realities of motherhood in your 40s, including the joys, struggles, and everything in between. Whether you’re a mom, a mother in waiting, or simply looking for some inspiration, Miriam’s story is a testament to the strength and resilience of motherhood.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00They say that when it comes to parenting, there's no such thing as too late or too early.
00:14On this episode of Pawprika, we're going to talk to a mom who proves that it is not about
00:20the age, but all about the love.
00:23I'm here with an amazing mom who has transitioned from being a beauty queen to an island goddess.
00:31Everybody, please welcome the gorgeous, ever-ever-gorgeous, Miriam Cabau-Roberto.
00:38Thank you so much, Rika.
00:40What can I say?
00:41What a glorious introduction!
00:44A little admiration clap for Ms. Rika, too.
00:47Thank you so much.
00:48Honestly, I feel like, because Miriam and I are both in our 40s, and I don't know,
00:54I feel more beautiful in my 40s than when I was in my 20s.
01:00Is this true?
01:01Yes, it's true.
01:02That's how I feel now.
01:03I mean, I feel more at home with myself.
01:06I feel I look better compared to how I looked back when I was a beauty queen.
01:10How are you in your island life?
01:13I super love my island life.
01:16We just love it here because there's no pressure of the city life.
01:20There's no experience of traffic, hours in traffic, especially during the holiday season.
01:26I get what you mean.
01:29This must be a dream life then for you.
01:31Is it?
01:32Yes.
01:33In my 20s, it's always been my dream to live in a house on a hill on an island which I own.
01:39Own?
01:41Why not?
01:42And is this why you're not?
01:44Because, of course, everything went back to normal.
01:47You didn't go back to Manila, right?
01:50But I think you have plans of going back, do you?
01:53Well, we had to go back because our eldest, Joshua, really didn't like his life on the island.
02:00Oh!
02:01So, we sent him to school here in our first year.
02:04So, he said he can stay in Manila.
02:06So, we enrolled him again in Manila.
02:09Now, we have to go back and establish a new place in Manila.
02:12Same village, same apartment.
02:14Last March 24, 2024, Miriam and Ardy Roberto renewed their vows as they celebrated their
02:2110th wedding anniversary.
02:23They have three lovable boys, Joshua and their miracle babies, Elijah and Ezekiel.
02:32Miriam shares both the joys and the challenges of motherhood.
02:37Well, at my age, because I had children in my 40s, late stage, right?
02:43I don't have a comparison to when I was young, when I was pregnant.
02:47But I can imagine, I probably would have had more energy when I had children at a much
02:54younger age compared to now.
02:56But still, I'm blessed because I have two miracle pregnancies, right?
03:03And having children is always a joy.
03:06But you know, it's like, I don't know if I can do this.
03:13I don't know if I can do this.
03:14Maybe I need to work out so that I can carry them.
03:19And Ardy and I agreed that by the time our kids are adults, or probably by the time they
03:25graduate from college, Ezekiel is two years old and he graduates, let's say, 18 years
03:32from now, I'll be 48, plus 20, I'll be 68 by the time he graduates.
03:38So I don't know if I'll be able to carry him.
03:41Will I be able to carry my grandchildren?
03:43Oh my gosh!
03:44We have the same concerns!
03:47That's also what I'm feeling.
03:49That's why I wanted to ask if there were things that you were thinking about, specifically
03:54as a mom in your 40s.
03:56That's very different when moms who are having their near 40s or even 30s, right?
04:06Because that's the computation!
04:09Sorry!
04:10Although there's also an advantage.
04:12Yes, I was going to ask you that.
04:13Because now that I'm at my 40s, I'm also more financially established than when I was in
04:19my 20s.
04:20Back in my 20s, I worked, I worked, and I didn't show my family, right?
04:25And if I had children then, I wouldn't have the time to invest in them as much as I do
04:30now.
04:31And now that I'm in my 40s, I've invested, I have passive income, so now we have all
04:37the time we want to spend with our kids.
04:40Right.
04:41You know, that's why I wanted to ask you that.
04:43Because it's the same realization for me.
04:45I feel like I worked so much in my younger years, now it can afford me a life of just
04:52being with my kids.
04:54I don't have to be away from them anymore.
04:56For instance, I was talking to a mom recently who said that she's very, very successful
05:01now.
05:02But she said that now that she has the time, her kids no longer really want to be around
05:07her so much because they're like 16, 17.
05:10They still want, but it's not like when they were toddlers, right?
05:13So I think that's what we have.
05:15And that's what I always tell other parents also that they're just starting out.
05:20There are pros and cons.
05:22I'm glad that you said that.
05:24But how is it now?
05:26For me, ever since I, it's really all based on my faith in Christianity and I know that
05:33family is my first ministry.
05:35And no one in his life ever said on his deathbed that I wish I spent more time at work.
05:41Yeah.
05:42With my family.
05:44So I said, I really need to invest time to be with my family so that I can have influence
05:52with them or on them for a much longer time.
05:57And with homeschooling, that's the benefit, right?
06:00Because we get to spend almost every day with them.
06:03We only have such a short window of time that we can influence our kids.
06:07Right.
06:08And the time that they want to be with us, right?
06:11Short window of time that we invest.
06:13And if I were younger to be busy with work, I don't have that privilege to mold them
06:18in the way that I want them.
06:20Although, I don't want to judge those families or those mothers who decide to work full time
06:27alongside with raising their kids.
06:30I know they have their own way.
06:31But for me, this is, I think, this is what's important to me, to invest time with them
06:36even in the young age, growing up.
06:39When I was four years old, this was a core memory for me.
06:44My mom had a corporate lifestyle.
06:47She was driving and I was running after her because at four years old, of course, I wanted my mom.
06:53She turned the corner and I stopped.
06:56I wanted her but she didn't even stop to look at me.
07:01I wanted to cry but I was scared because there were a lot of people looking at me.
07:06I said, no, I'm not going to cry.
07:11So, it's like I made a conscious decision not to want my mom.
07:15And so, growing up, I wasn't close to my mom.
07:18Really?
07:19Yeah.
07:20Oh my gosh.
07:21Maybe we've had times together but it's not like I would confide in her or anything like that.
07:28We were able to restore our relationship.
07:30At that time, I was with my mom.
07:32My mom said, Lord, over here, over here, and over there.
07:37That's where we were able to restore our relationship.
07:39And by God's grace, I had five years to establish a close, loving relationship with my mom.
07:44Really?
07:45Before she passed away.
07:46That's such a gift.
07:48Yeah.
07:49So, because I had that experience, I said, when I grow up, I don't want to be forced
07:55to work just to keep a lifestyle.
07:58I want, when I grow up and I have a family, I want to have that option to choose to work
08:04or to be with my kids.
08:06That's why I look into learning about financial investment, having passive income,
08:12so that I can still contribute financially to the family and spend time with my kids.
08:17Yes.
08:18And you know, it's making me realize one thing.
08:20Because they always say that you must learn from your mistakes.
08:25You know, mistakes of others also happen to us.
08:28And sometimes they're very life-defying.
08:30Like the mistakes of our parents.
08:32I mean, it's a reality.
08:33It's not to dishonor them.
08:34The way that we also are offending our children, right?
08:38But I think what's great about your story is that your mom may or may not have been
08:44aware that, you know, she was doing this to you.
08:47But definitely, it created a, first, a negative impact in your life.
08:52But eventually, you used it to make, like, okay, let's break a cycle
08:58that is not good for families.
09:01And you turned it into something good.
09:03Which is, you know, for me, it's encouraging.
09:06It's inspiring because even though,
09:08for me, it's like we're stuck.
09:11This is the trauma of my childhood.
09:13And they did this to me.
09:14And we can't move on.
09:15But your story is showing me that, you know, no matter what happened in your past,
09:20there is a way to break that and to move forward with a better kind of life, right?
09:26So, thank you for sharing that.
09:28But mom, my mom wasn't a bad parent.
09:30It's just that she was a physical parent.
09:32Yes!
09:33And it's a reality.
09:34Some parents out there, it's embarrassing because there's really no choice.
09:38Because they're the only ones working, right?
09:41So, we don't judge them.
09:43We also know the reality.
09:45And we're actually grateful that we had the privilege to make it different.
09:50During desperate situations,
09:52when you know what's the most important thing you need to spend,
09:55you know that you will put this above everything else.
10:01Now, how do you balance that?
10:02It really comes in seasons.
10:04Before I had kids, I was focusing on speaking.
10:07But when I had kids and I had a tender pregnancy,
10:11I couldn't even work out.
10:13I couldn't even hold my child because it will stress me
10:16and probably affect the baby.
10:18So, there are seasons like that.
10:20But you know,
10:21everything can be done
10:23but not all at the same time.
10:26So, if you were to put it in a brief,
10:28what is your wisdom to share to parents about their season?
10:34Seasons come and go.
10:36But the season of your children
10:40is only short
10:42and it will never come again.
10:43So, you need to know your priorities.
10:45Meanwhile, if you really need to contribute
10:48to your family's income
10:50or properly exercise your gift,
10:52thanks for your wisdom.
10:54But last,
10:56what is the best lesson
10:59that you've learned
11:01in becoming a parent?
11:03Well, the first person who made me a parent
11:06was Joshua.
11:07Aww.
11:08He was 6 years old
11:10when I first became his parent.
11:12He was adopted by Ardy and his late wife.
11:15Back then,
11:16I didn't know how to love
11:18a grown boy
11:20who didn't come from my home.
11:22I knew that God put me in this family.
11:25So, I'm gonna learn.
11:26You love this boy
11:28more than anyone.
11:30And I don't know how to love him.
11:32Will you give me a heart
11:34to love him as you love him?
11:36Sometimes, we are so limited
11:37in our capacity to love.
11:39But only God has that
11:41unchanging,
11:45never-ending,
11:47all-encompassing kind of love
11:49that all parents,
11:51He's a perfect parent.
11:52All parents love Him.
11:53So, we need to tap into that source
11:56in order to be effective parents.
11:59We're not gonna be perfect.
12:01But when we love
12:03with the love of God,
12:04towards our children,
12:07we can be the best parent.
12:09Thank you so much for your wisdom.
12:11And I hope to have you again
12:13on Smart Parenting.
12:15And SPFAM, I hope you enjoyed that.
12:18And I hope you took down notes.
12:19And we'll see you again
12:20for the next episode of Fabrica.
12:23Bye, guys!
12:34You