Mother’s Day is just around the corner so to pay homage to our first “teachers” about life and love, I asked some celebs what particular memory/moment with their moms had left a lasting impact on them. It’s been 10 years since my mom passed away but thoughts of her seem so real that I can almost still hear her raspy voice cheering me on. I will never forget when I asked her in jest, “Ma, please autograph your picture for me.” She wrote this: “Thank you for being the best part of Inday Badiday.”
I should be the one to thank my superwoMom for being the gift that I was born with. Everyone else in our lives is replaceable except our moms. We can never be too old nor too successful to need some mothering every now and then.
BOOTS Anson-Roa
Boots Anson-Roa: My late mom, Chemistry professor Belen Cristobal-Anson, was a “cool” lola, as what her grandchildren call her. She was a “cool” mom, too, in contrast to my dad, the late 1950s actor Oscar Moreno, who was strict and conservative. He would not allow me to go to mixed parties even when I was already a sophomore at the University of the Philippines, not even to our Euthenics monthly socials—in which attendance and participation were graded. At my mom’s instance, every time there was such an event, she and I would make “takas” and pretend we were going to the movies. We had our semiformal party clothes already tucked in the car. Then we would go to her sister Leonie’s place to change attire and then proceeded together to the ball with my cousin Lani and her own mom in tow. Then we changed back to our casual clothes before heading home. Happily, my dad never caught us until we finished the two-semester subject. In hindsight, it was always a “thrilling” experience. Lesson learned: As parents, let us find reason for imposing rules to our children and explain said rules, lest they do things behind our backs.
Dingdong Dantes: Every time we have our weekly family gathering my mom cooks for the whole family. She would always lovingly prepare all our meals
DINGDONG Dantes
while we, her children, were growing up. I guess the secret ingredient of her extraordinary dishes was more than enough for our bodies and spirits to grow and become who we are now.
Amy Perez: When I was 15, I could not understand why my mom required me and my siblings to clean our room and wash the dishes after we eat. Now I realize that she was preparing me for the time when I will have my own family already. I will forever be grateful to my mom for teaching me all the things I need to know. If not for her, I will not be this kind of mother to my boys.
Jackielou Blanco: When I was heartbroken and I was crying like crazy, my mom (singer Pilita Corrales) held my hand and said, “Jackie, I know it’s painful and it’s not easy but remember that tomorrow is another day. The sun will shine and you must be there to welcome it. If it’s not such a good day, I’ll be there with you to help you get through it.” I will never forget that moment. That truth has kept me going through all the downs in my life. I always remind myself that no matter what each tomorrow
JACKIELOU Blanco
brings, I’ll always want to greet it. Those words of my mom always kept me strong, knowing that she’s there for me no matter what.
John Arcilla: My mom was our first storyteller. We had books of Hans Christian Andersen, Grimm’s Fairy Tales and Aesop’s fables. She read with feelings. She played with each word with wit and full of rhetorics. My siblings and I would laugh, giggle and cry because of her special way of reading. I could even imagine the feelings of the characters in the stories she was reading to us. My mom was my first performer. Her story-telling skill fascinated me at a young age. That experience influenced me to get into the arts and develop my passion for acting in theater, TV and movies. That formative experience transformed me into what I am now.
Christian Bautista: My mom would remind me that no matter how busy I was, I should always find time for home and the family.