My career had to come first. As such, I have spent the last 10 years immersing myself in corporate work, pushing myself to gain the things I wished for. My life seemed to only work that way: if I wanted something, I needed to pursue it through my hard work and determination. As I’ve come this far in my career, I believed myself to be as capable and competent as anyone else. Since I prioritized my career, my marriage came rather late. Nonetheless, Tony came into my life when I was 34, and we considered starting our own family. The idea of having a big family came naturally to us, as we both grew up in large families. However, we were met by every conceivable struggle to stand in the way of childbirth. Irregular ovulation cycles, hormonal imbalances, and even blocked fallopian tubes had all come together to block us from our path.
 
The worst came when I was diagnosed with a severe tumor that could not be treated properly without surgery. At the time, I hoped that perhaps this respite from my usual hectic life would guide me to something fruitful. And yet, after the operation, my rate of conceiving fell close to nil. “God always has His own ways, yet his plans are usually not our own.”

After recognizing clear signs from solemn prayer, in 1988, I decided to return to the corporate world. From then on, blessings seemed to come my way one after the other. One night, my husband was deeply moved by the Spirit, and spoke to our priest regarding his newfound dream of adopting a child. It was the best Christmas gift I had ever received. Everything proceeded smoothly from there. On June 17, 1990 – Father’s Day – we welcomed our sweet little Mir-Isabel into our home. One evening, Tony and I were resting in our bedroom after another day of officework. We heard a small knock on our door, and saw Mir peeping in. She approached us and quietly said, “Mama, Papa, you are the best thing that ever happened to me.” Ever since, I knew that my daughter — our Mir-Isabel — was God’s best gift to Tony and me. 

A year later, we proceeded to finally get her adoptee paperwork done and dusted. “From this day on, Mir-Isabel Fetil Caringal is the forever daughter of Antonio and Carmela Caringal, and nobody can ever take her away from them.” These were, of course, my own version of what the judge had said that day. It was a story I loved repeating to my daughter who loved hearing it. She was a kid with a pair of lungs bigger than her body, which she used to sing aloud to her favorite songs. She and I would “pig out” on all kinds of unhealthy sweets while the movie was on. She was showered with much love and affection, though still grounded when she misbehaves. To some, Mir-Isabel might be just like any other kid out there, but to me and Tony, she was the loveliest angel God could have ever blessed us with.