by Jing Lejano
In the Sales household, there
is no such thing as gender role.
When it comes to household
chores and childcare duties,
it's about who is available at
the moment. Frances Sales
is a beauty editor for L’Oréal
Paris and the blogger behind
TopazHorizon.com. She is
married to Vince Sales, who
is regional copy editor of
TheAsianParent.com. The two
have three young boys.
What made you decide
to work from home?
It just happened. In 2012, I
was laid off from my job as a
magazine editor. My friends
in publishing kept sending
me writing assignments so
I became a freelance writer.
Soon, a column for a national
daily and a consulting editor
position were offered. As these
were not employee jobs, I could
work from home. Most of all,
my blogging hobby picked up.
Within a year, I had earned
more than I ever did as an
editor. It allowed me to stay
home and be with my kids. It
also allowed my husband to
quit his job in advertising, be
a stay-at-home dad, and finish
his novel.
Last year, with my kids off
to school, my husband and I
realized we needed to earn
more. What was clear to me was
I needed a job that was near my
home so I could avoid the stress
of Manila’s terrible traffic.
My husband and I looked for
jobs within 3 kilometers of
our house. The real work is
motherhood and the job is what
makes the real work possible.How do you manage to
run a household without
a helper?
Two years ago, we decided not
to have a kasambahay anymore.
Our household chores and
childcare duties are not divided
by gender roles but to whoever
is available at the moment. If
I’m at a blogger event all day,
then my husband has to be the
one to change diapers and feedthe kids. Since I’m better at
cooking, I cook. But in a pinch
or if I'm too busy, my husband
can whip something up. No
such thing as woman’s work in
our house!What does your typical
day look like?
Since my kids started going to
school, our schedule is easier
now. I spend mornings doing
chores and errands while my
husband works. Then I fetch
the kids from school in the
afternoon and we spend time
together as a family. After
bedtime is when I have time to
work on blog posts and articles
while my husband does chores.
We take turns. So there's a
really nice flow.Do you have any ground
rules for posting?
I may seem to be so open but I
mostly talk about my feelings
and thoughts. When it comes
to details of our life, I keep a lot
of them private. For example, I
talk about my kids loving school
but I have never revealed what
school they attend. I don’t
announce vacations. I don’t
post in real time. The kids
are also old enough to tell me
what I can and can’t post. They
always approve their photos
first. They don’t want any
photos of themselves sleeping
or where they are unaware of
the camera. So I comply.What values are most
important, and how do
you teach them to your
children?
Vince and I value integrity,
empathy, and compassion as
these lead to kindness, humility,
hard work, respect, and love for
all mankind and the planet. It’s
hard to teach all that, though, if
the boys don’t have the ability
to understand others and
themselves. So we ask them to
be mindful of their words and
actions, how everything they
say and do impacts themselves
and others. It’s not so hard
because children are so sweet
and loving, and they have an
uncanny ability to see things
simply. What’s hard is to keep
them that way.Real Partnership
For Frances and
Vince, family duties
are not divided by
gender roles.