Mothers And Motherhood In May

By: Maria Girlie Pascual

 

When the month of May comes around, automatic ads pop up reminding everyone that Mother’s Day is coming up soon, therefore family plans have to be made for any mother that is still around to be celebrated. In our Filipino culture, “mother,” “inay,” “nanay” all refer to the matriarch of the family, a revered position that elicit lifelong memories, strong feelings, guilt, happiness, angst, joy, any emotion that affects anyone that had a mother, or raised by a mother figure who was not a biological parent. I, for one, have experienced both roles.
I am “Mom” to my 40-year-old son, Kristoffer, and still a stand-in mother for my grandson, Kenzo, who lost his mommy to cancer when he was only a year old. This role became vital to Kenzo’s upbringing, more so than when I was raising Kristoffer with his dad Wolfgang, because even when the marriage ended, his dad was always there for him when he was growing up so both parents were present in his life. As for Kenzo, it was put upon my shoulders to stand in as “Mom,” until such time when Kristoffer found a new partner, and, thankfully, he did. Kenzo and his new “Mama Kat” have been bonding since last year, and it was only then that I truly realized how a mother’s role forcefully impacts a child’s upbringing and life.
This Mother’s Day 2026, I reverently pray that my own mom, Teresita Leonor Lorenzo Pascual will be looking down upon us, giving her blessing to the new family that God has blessed my son with. Strong, intelligent, and beautiful, my mother never compromised on her views, sometimes appearing too strong a Filipina for our culture. Born and raised in Manila, my mother actually married very early as was the norm more than the exception back in the 1950’s, when the term “old maid” haunted unmarried women barely in their mid-20’s. She was an entrepreneur, a “Boss Lady” ahead of her time who singlehandedly managed to direct and source out the construction of our salt farms in Bulacan, turning the fish ponds into a more lucrative and viable product, concentrating on industrial salt rather than the consumer kind used for food. She learned who to market her salt to which, in turn, determined the salinity and quality of the salt we produced, oftentimes inviting their company engineers to our salt farms to wine and dine them while they taught her methods of customizing the salt to the industry standards needed for manufacturing chemicals, textile, paint, and all kinds of products that needed salt in their factories. My mom, Tessie, was indeed a force to reckon with, dressing up to the nines with her coiffed hair, painted nails and designer shoes and handbags, she fearlessly showed up at the gates of the chemical companies, declaring that she needed to meet with the owners or Presidents of the company, and because she was with a chauffeur in a Mercedes Benz, they would let her in without an appointment. With her charm and in-depth knowledge of the salt we were producing in Bulacan, she would sway the director or officer to try our salt for a few months, and before she left the meeting, she would have an actual purchase order in hand. My mom was a hard worker and a big dreamer, and she made it all happen while raising six children, including me.
Happy Mother’s Day, mom! We love you and we miss you. And to all the hardworking moms that love family only next to God, celebrate with joy and pride in knowing that you did your best!

My mother and I timeless moment I love.

She enjoyed taking family trips to different places as one big group.

Love of my mom’s life.

My mom Tessie and my dad Dr Arsenio C Pascual Jr at home in the 1980’s.

My mom with my uncle, her brother Councilor of Manila Ambrosio King Lorenzo 2nd district with my brother Docboy Pascual & aunt Pamantasan ng Manila President Luningning Lorenzo.

Glamorous Glammas Forever, Veronica and Girlie.

Loving the “Glamma” Life with grandson Kenzo, VT cover February 2024.