A good marriage is a taste of heaven on earth
May 1, 2005 | 12:00am
One of the greatest rewards of my job as a jeweler is being able to witness joyous moments in the lives of people. Being a writer doubles up the fun because it allows me to share their jewel stories with you. But what truly makes it all worthwhile to me are the valuable lessons my interviewees shared with me.
I met Alen Mojica when we went to Bora to shoot the Asian Spirit inflight magazine cover and his concept was that of a boardroom scene on the beach. Pretty corporate I thought because I was really dying to come out in a bikini.
Sometime after the shoot, he called me asking if I had a nice one-and-a-half carat diamond ring. He said the ring was intended for his "renewal of vows" with his wife, Carmen. The romantic in me was unleashed. I was so intrigued.
This is their story.
They met on a Black Saturday when they were 12 years old. Alen was then being groomed to be a priest and Carmen was already a little lady. Since they were neighbors, they became playmates. Before long he started writing Carmen love letters asking her if she believed in love at first sight. He was so smitten by Carmen and at this extremely tender age he had already discerned that this young lady was destined to become his wife.
At 15, due to circumstances beyond their control, they were forced to go on separate ways when Alen’s family migrated to the US. Many years apart, their lives took different twists and turns.
Several years later, fate put them back together when Alen flew back to Manila in 1990 for just 10 days to seal a deal with Martin Nievera and Gary Valenciano to do shows in the US.
Carmen’s and Alen’s lives were never the same after that trip. The reignited sparks left them unable to live without each other. Not only were their phone bills phenomenal, apart they were also miserable. And so Alen made the inevitable decision.
"When you get to a crossroad, your heart serves as the compass that will show you the right path," he said.
They were finally married in 1994. "She was the fulfillment of my dream," Alen said.
Since Alen had chosen to give up his comfortable life in the US and moved back to the Philippines, things did not come easy. Without his family, he was on his own. But having Carmen by his side completed him. So, starting with zero he had to work his way up all over again as the day-to-day realities of marriage began to unfold.
Through hard work, patience and determination, their businesses grew; but somehow, in the process, their relationship suffered. The daily obligations and responsibilities of running a business and pursuing one transaction after the other became a never-ending cycle. Loneliness started to set in and this frequently drove Carmen to tears. She missed the good old excitement, Alen’s attentiveness and the togetherness they previously shared. They were drifting apart. This marriage was so important to her that one day she so decided, "I cannot let this continue to happen. If he won’t do anything about it I will. I have to do something before it’s too late."
This is what Carmen did:
The night before Alen’s birthday, she was able to sneak into his office with her loot. She playfully packed up a huge balikbayan box with all the little things that he loved but had just become too busy to enjoy such as champuy and kiamoy from Chinatown, sweet roasted castanas or chestnuts, fruit and nut chocolate bars from the Cadbury Station, pictures of their special moments in pretty wooden frames, and all other little things that she knew would make him happy. Then she filled up the box with balloons and wrapped it up in neon green wrapper tied up with a giant golden bow. The very next morning when Alen got to his office he saw a huge box sitting there with a love letter addressed to him. When he opened the box his heart soared as several balloons flew up to the ceiling and he found all his favorite stuff in there. To this day, he fondly remembers how this kept him floating on cloud nine.
This started the ball rolling, and all the fun began... all over again.
Not to be outdone, Alen’s turn came on Jan. 4, Carmen’s birthday. He secretly gathered together their beloved family and friends. He put together all her favorite dishes, painstakingly transforming their home into her favorite restaurant and surprised her with a party she could never forget.
Sometime after this, Carmen once again took pains to stage another dramatic surprise, this time to rekindle their romance. One starry night, she told Alen to meet her at the Herald Suites for a business function. When he got to the lobby of the hotel, the unsuspecting Alen was directed by the receptionist to the top floor. When the elevator door opened, he was met with a strong, sweet and heady fragrance. He stepped out onto a pathway lined with lighted scented candles. As his footsteps followed this path, he found himself on a roofdeck that Carmen had ingeniously transformed into a garden. There were hydrangeas, tulips, carnations, gerberas and balloons that were interspersed everywhere. Violins began to play their familiar theme song, We’re the Only Two People in the World. He was so floored he could hardly walk. His knees wobbled, his heart started to race and that good old delicious giddy feeling empowered his entire body, his heart and soul. Misty-eyed, he locked her into his arms as they danced to the music. Their feet silently kicking up balloons as their lips met in wild abandon caught up in that glorious moment.
Fast forward. This year marks their 11th year of marriage. There was something he truly wanted to express.
It took all of three months for Alen to stage this one. Every little detail had to be perfect and, of course, Carmen was not supposed to find out. He had to sneak around doing oculars to find the perfect place. He wanted to find the right ring and he had to conceptualize the perfect script. He had to direct and practice the characters and crew, put together his props, produce those little details and the excitement and anticipation was driving him wild.
He chose a one-and-a-half carat brilliant cut diamond and had it mounted on a special white gold setting that he had in mind especially for Carmen.
Next, he ran to Leonida’s for the chocolates needed. Like a lovestruck teenager, he began to prepare for this much-awaited event with glee.
He had previously told Carmen that she was invited to do a food review in Antonio’s, a restaurant in Tagaytay. Being in the public relations and events planning business, Carmen fell for the whole thing; she was so excited.
Alen drove Carmen to Antonio’s. As she alighted from the car, romance was felt in the air. The whole restaurant was waiting, decked with the loveliest table settings, vases of wildflowers and floating candles everywhere. They were led to the prettiest table under the stars. The wine and appetizers came forth. Carmen was in heaven as fine food and bubbly wines flowed. She delighted in the food and was carefully taking in every delectable bite as she gave them all top rating.
It was a perfect evening. Alen enjoyed her company as they reminisced fond memories. Then it was time for dessert. The waiter served Carmen the Leonida’s pyramid of chocolates. "What do you think about this dessert?" Alen casually asked Carmen. He had a script which led her to opening the little boxes of chocolates each containing a question and a choice. All throughout, Carmen was unsuspecting. When she opened the box of chocolates at the bottom of the pyramid, a little piece of paper appeared with this note: "Carmen, will you marry me again?"
And then she saw a sparkling diamond ring embedded in her chocolate mint.
She squealed, stood up and screamed "Yes!" She then enfolded herself into Alen’s waiting arms. Nothing in this world could compare with the joy that Alen saw on Carmen’s face that evening! It was all worth it. And her reaction made him feel like doing it over and over again.
From Alen, I learned the following:
"I love to make my wife happy because a happy wife makes a happy life."
"When you have been together for a long time you must make the effort to show her how much you love her."
"When you keep on doing good to someone it all comes back to you."
"Couples fall out of love with each other because they forget to do the things that made them fall in love with each other in the first place."
From Carmen...
"Alen may not be perfect but he is to me."
"Alen is my best friend. You must invest in friendship. You must constantly invest in your relationship."
"A good marriage to me is a taste of heaven here on earth."
"I know the love of God because Alen is the manifestation of God’s love for me."
Ahhh... such love between Alen and Carmen.
For as long as there is love there will always be magic. I wonder what this couple will do next.
(Got any ideas? I’d love to hear yours. E-mail me at miladayjewels@yahoo.com)
I met Alen Mojica when we went to Bora to shoot the Asian Spirit inflight magazine cover and his concept was that of a boardroom scene on the beach. Pretty corporate I thought because I was really dying to come out in a bikini.
Sometime after the shoot, he called me asking if I had a nice one-and-a-half carat diamond ring. He said the ring was intended for his "renewal of vows" with his wife, Carmen. The romantic in me was unleashed. I was so intrigued.
This is their story.
They met on a Black Saturday when they were 12 years old. Alen was then being groomed to be a priest and Carmen was already a little lady. Since they were neighbors, they became playmates. Before long he started writing Carmen love letters asking her if she believed in love at first sight. He was so smitten by Carmen and at this extremely tender age he had already discerned that this young lady was destined to become his wife.
At 15, due to circumstances beyond their control, they were forced to go on separate ways when Alen’s family migrated to the US. Many years apart, their lives took different twists and turns.
Several years later, fate put them back together when Alen flew back to Manila in 1990 for just 10 days to seal a deal with Martin Nievera and Gary Valenciano to do shows in the US.
Carmen’s and Alen’s lives were never the same after that trip. The reignited sparks left them unable to live without each other. Not only were their phone bills phenomenal, apart they were also miserable. And so Alen made the inevitable decision.
"When you get to a crossroad, your heart serves as the compass that will show you the right path," he said.
They were finally married in 1994. "She was the fulfillment of my dream," Alen said.
Since Alen had chosen to give up his comfortable life in the US and moved back to the Philippines, things did not come easy. Without his family, he was on his own. But having Carmen by his side completed him. So, starting with zero he had to work his way up all over again as the day-to-day realities of marriage began to unfold.
Through hard work, patience and determination, their businesses grew; but somehow, in the process, their relationship suffered. The daily obligations and responsibilities of running a business and pursuing one transaction after the other became a never-ending cycle. Loneliness started to set in and this frequently drove Carmen to tears. She missed the good old excitement, Alen’s attentiveness and the togetherness they previously shared. They were drifting apart. This marriage was so important to her that one day she so decided, "I cannot let this continue to happen. If he won’t do anything about it I will. I have to do something before it’s too late."
This is what Carmen did:
The night before Alen’s birthday, she was able to sneak into his office with her loot. She playfully packed up a huge balikbayan box with all the little things that he loved but had just become too busy to enjoy such as champuy and kiamoy from Chinatown, sweet roasted castanas or chestnuts, fruit and nut chocolate bars from the Cadbury Station, pictures of their special moments in pretty wooden frames, and all other little things that she knew would make him happy. Then she filled up the box with balloons and wrapped it up in neon green wrapper tied up with a giant golden bow. The very next morning when Alen got to his office he saw a huge box sitting there with a love letter addressed to him. When he opened the box his heart soared as several balloons flew up to the ceiling and he found all his favorite stuff in there. To this day, he fondly remembers how this kept him floating on cloud nine.
This started the ball rolling, and all the fun began... all over again.
Not to be outdone, Alen’s turn came on Jan. 4, Carmen’s birthday. He secretly gathered together their beloved family and friends. He put together all her favorite dishes, painstakingly transforming their home into her favorite restaurant and surprised her with a party she could never forget.
Sometime after this, Carmen once again took pains to stage another dramatic surprise, this time to rekindle their romance. One starry night, she told Alen to meet her at the Herald Suites for a business function. When he got to the lobby of the hotel, the unsuspecting Alen was directed by the receptionist to the top floor. When the elevator door opened, he was met with a strong, sweet and heady fragrance. He stepped out onto a pathway lined with lighted scented candles. As his footsteps followed this path, he found himself on a roofdeck that Carmen had ingeniously transformed into a garden. There were hydrangeas, tulips, carnations, gerberas and balloons that were interspersed everywhere. Violins began to play their familiar theme song, We’re the Only Two People in the World. He was so floored he could hardly walk. His knees wobbled, his heart started to race and that good old delicious giddy feeling empowered his entire body, his heart and soul. Misty-eyed, he locked her into his arms as they danced to the music. Their feet silently kicking up balloons as their lips met in wild abandon caught up in that glorious moment.
Fast forward. This year marks their 11th year of marriage. There was something he truly wanted to express.
It took all of three months for Alen to stage this one. Every little detail had to be perfect and, of course, Carmen was not supposed to find out. He had to sneak around doing oculars to find the perfect place. He wanted to find the right ring and he had to conceptualize the perfect script. He had to direct and practice the characters and crew, put together his props, produce those little details and the excitement and anticipation was driving him wild.
He chose a one-and-a-half carat brilliant cut diamond and had it mounted on a special white gold setting that he had in mind especially for Carmen.
Next, he ran to Leonida’s for the chocolates needed. Like a lovestruck teenager, he began to prepare for this much-awaited event with glee.
He had previously told Carmen that she was invited to do a food review in Antonio’s, a restaurant in Tagaytay. Being in the public relations and events planning business, Carmen fell for the whole thing; she was so excited.
Alen drove Carmen to Antonio’s. As she alighted from the car, romance was felt in the air. The whole restaurant was waiting, decked with the loveliest table settings, vases of wildflowers and floating candles everywhere. They were led to the prettiest table under the stars. The wine and appetizers came forth. Carmen was in heaven as fine food and bubbly wines flowed. She delighted in the food and was carefully taking in every delectable bite as she gave them all top rating.
It was a perfect evening. Alen enjoyed her company as they reminisced fond memories. Then it was time for dessert. The waiter served Carmen the Leonida’s pyramid of chocolates. "What do you think about this dessert?" Alen casually asked Carmen. He had a script which led her to opening the little boxes of chocolates each containing a question and a choice. All throughout, Carmen was unsuspecting. When she opened the box of chocolates at the bottom of the pyramid, a little piece of paper appeared with this note: "Carmen, will you marry me again?"
And then she saw a sparkling diamond ring embedded in her chocolate mint.
She squealed, stood up and screamed "Yes!" She then enfolded herself into Alen’s waiting arms. Nothing in this world could compare with the joy that Alen saw on Carmen’s face that evening! It was all worth it. And her reaction made him feel like doing it over and over again.
"I love to make my wife happy because a happy wife makes a happy life."
"When you have been together for a long time you must make the effort to show her how much you love her."
"When you keep on doing good to someone it all comes back to you."
"Couples fall out of love with each other because they forget to do the things that made them fall in love with each other in the first place."
From Carmen...
"Alen may not be perfect but he is to me."
"Alen is my best friend. You must invest in friendship. You must constantly invest in your relationship."
"A good marriage to me is a taste of heaven here on earth."
"I know the love of God because Alen is the manifestation of God’s love for me."
For as long as there is love there will always be magic. I wonder what this couple will do next.
(Got any ideas? I’d love to hear yours. E-mail me at miladayjewels@yahoo.com)
BrandSpace Articles
<
>