I’m a book publisher and at the same time a blogger. The internet is prominent in my everyday routine as I manage the digital marketing of our family’s business and at the same time immerse myself on social media the whole day for my blog. Yes, I’m among the millions of Filipinos who spend the entire day behind the screens of our iPads (or tablets), iPhones (or smartphones), laptops and desktop computers.

I join today’s millennials and young professionals who blame the fast paced and extremely busy world for neglecting to stay in touch with our parents.

I’ve been living in Makati for around 10 years now and my mom and dad are living in Paranaque City. I know it’s less than 30 kilometers away but my work and daily commitments distract me for calling mom even for a minute or two a day. Yes, I visit my mother once a week but sometimes after spending lunch or dinner with her I couldn’t even extend my stay for another hour because of the never-ending work that I need to do on my desktop computer in my Makati condo. And that’s despite her request for me to stay longer by saying “magpahinga ka muna, katatapos mo lang kumain” or “uuwi ka na agad, halos kararating mo lang ah.”

Mothers Day is just around the corner and several heartwarming commercials have already hit me real hard and reminded me that I am indeed so much engrossed to my business and blog that I tend to neglect calling mom to say hi or even text her once a day. One of these commercials is titled “What Do You Have Time For?” and it’s about a millennial girl in a city. It will show her daily routine – waking up, preparing for work, doing a presentation at work, unwinding/partying at night, and coming home alone at her condominium. In all of these situations, there’s a voice over of her mother asking how she is doing – did she eat her breakfast, did she get to the office safe, did she eat her lunch, is she home etc. Then the last scene will show the millennial girl reading all her mom’s texts which she wasn’t able to reply to all day. It will show that she prioritized everything except replying to her mom’s messages. The voice overs were the texts. End frame will show that the girl replies to her mom via video chat. She tells her that she is fine and will ask her mom how is she in return.

Watching this video made me realize that finding time to keep in touch my mother is very simple–with technology! Just a simple phone call or text everyday would make my mom incredibly happy. It also reminded me why my mom always make a request for me to video chat with her every time I fly to another country. I know its not because she can no longer ride an airplane and she wants to see the beautiful places I’ve been but she wants to make sure that I am safe and having the time of my life.

We keep in touch with our friends and clients daily but we find it to be a difficult chore to check on our moms. With today’s technology, this should never become an issue. Our mothers have always been there for us so it’s about time for us to be there for her too specially this Mother’s Day. A simple call, text or video chat can make her very happy.

The lesson I learned from the video: be there like never before for my mom.