It’s been two months since my last Generous Heart column in December celebrated the most wonderful time of the year. I had to take a pause from writing for a season of rewinding, reflecting, and making better sense of how 2025 unfolded for me.

I begin my first column of 2026 in the month of March intentionally to literally march along with the progress I want to lead my life toward this year.

Public service was front and center for me last year and I now find myself refocusing on the endeavors I had unintentionally given less time to than they deserved: my small businesses and, most especially, my small family.

Life has a way of zooming through time when one is extraordinarily busy. I noticed that I missed witnessing parts of my daughter’s days, my son’s stories, my husband’s quiet sacrifices, and even the milestones of friends as I tended to the world of politics and gave my time generously to the 71,000 constituents who entrusted me with the highest council vote last year.

Generosity is beautiful, but it must be guided with wisdom.

The generosity of time I poured into public service over the past six months was not without reward. The reward, I believe, came in the form of lessons. I learned that service is not merely about being present everywhere, but about being present well.

We developed better systems in the office, delegated responsibly and created a management flow that allowed us to serve efficiently without burning out. Progress, I realized, is not measured by exhaustion but by sustainability.

In one barangay visit, I met a widow who quietly organizes a weekly feeding program for street children using a portion of her small pension.

“Ma’am, I may not have much, but I can still share soup,” she told me.

In another community, a group of mothers pools small amounts each month to help one another with emergency hospital needs. These women do not make headlines, yet their generosity builds invisible scaffoldings that keep families standing.

Their story reminds me that generosity is not always grand. Sometimes it is structured. Sometimes it is disciplined. Sometimes it is simply showing up consistently.

As Scripture reminds us, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

I am grateful for a family that understands the adjustments required by my new commitment to public service. I am thankful to my TRIBUNE family for granting me the grace and time to rewire, rethink and plan for a more generously inspired column this year.

This March, I choose to march forward differently, not away from service, but toward a more balanced form of it. I choose to educate, inspire, and inform with intention. I choose to serve the public without neglecting the sacred circle of my home.

Because progress is not only about moving ahead. It is about moving ahead together with generous hearts that know when to give, when to rest, and when to return home.