Moms are honored by their families almost every day and we don’t actually need a special day just to make them feel that they are celebrated.
But apart from our moms, there are people in our lives who have played special, mother-like roles. Those mother figures can include a devoted aunt, a grandmother, or actually, she can also be a he.
Prior to Mother’s Day, Manila Standard Entertainment spoke to Kapuso moms Luane Dy, Maricris Garcia, Chynna Ortaleza, and LJ Reyes to talk about the struggles of being a mother this pandemic season. But one of the more interesting topics was when we talked about the people who have played mother-like figures in their lives apart from their own mothers.
Luane’s second parents
I’ve learned a lot from my teachers in grade school. It’s not that I had given them the authority to control my life back then, I didn’t even listen to everything they told me. But to be honest, I have learned so much from them that even up to this day, whenever I encounter any situation, I would always think about what would they do, what would they tell me if I asked for advice.
Mother-in-law also knows best for Maricris
My mother-in-law is the complete opposite of my mom. They have different ways yet I kind of combined their ways and I think that’s how I'm going to raise my kid. My mom is very strict while my mother-in-law is very cool. In a way, they create a certain kind of balance. I’m grateful that I have them in my life because that’s the kind of balance that I need right now.
LJ’s Lola
I look up very much to my Lola, actually she’s not my biological grandmother but she’s the one who took care of me when I was young. She’s my mother’s yaya as well. She’s in heaven now but the lessons I learned from her, the memories we had together, still live on. Whenever I see my daughter, I still remember her. I know she’d be happy to see Summer.
My mom was an OFW, so my Lola was the one who physically made me feel kung paano ba ang isang nanay. The nurturing part of being a mom, that’s what I learned from her. I think a bunch of what I am as a nurturing mom came from her. She didn’t have children so she dedicated her life to taking care of us.
For Chynna, it’s her dad
My mother figure other than my mom is my dad. Papa is a really great dad. Looking at the lessons he imparted to me, I realized he was a very good “mom” because he was able to teach me to empower my womanhood. It’s the way he encouraged me to be myself and to know that being a woman is a great thing and that I should embrace my feminine side, the power of my body. He’s the one who always tells me that there’s so much power in being a woman and that I really have to be proud that I am one.
I became more confident as a woman because my dad believed in me. He kept on reminding me that there’s power in your softness, anak.