We are all grateful to our mothers because without them, we would not be where we are. Most of what we learn in life is imparted by our mothers — from the worldly and practical to the amusing advice. Once we, too, become mothers, we realize that we don’t stop being one when our children become adults and can stand on their own.
Iloilo-bred Florence “Inday” Chan celebrated her 88th birthday at the Tower Club surrounded by her five established children, 12 talented grandchildren and 10 great- grandchildren. She has remained as sweet and demure as when she married Antonio Chan at 18 years old and he eventually became one of the Visayan sugar barons of the 1980s. Ever smiling and gracious, Tai mah Inday is a lady we should all emulate and wish to be in our golden years.
Cecile Blanco Mitra is the epitome of a politician’s wife — having been entrenched in politics when her husband Ramon Mitra was a congressman and a senator before the dark days of martial law, resuming his political life during the heady years after the Edsa revolution when he rose to be the Speaker of the House under President Cory Aquino.
One cannot help but notice how soft- spoken and gracious the well-dressed Cecile is. No matter who she speaks to, she does so with her Ilongga breeding and always has a smile or a kind word for those she meets.
Her loving family threw a birthday bash for her at RJ Bistro surrounded by her multi-generational clan and her numerous friends that included the congressional spouses that have remained loyal to each other despite going on their own political paths.
It goes to show that friendship transcends politics and that is the way life should be.
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Along with glamorous mothers Lulu Tan Gan, Ces Schultz and Fortune Ledesma, we all were given Toblerone gift boxes by our respective children namely, RJJ, Jessica Tan Gan, Georgia Schultz-del Rosario and RJ Ledesma. There is nothing like opening the triangular box filled with the best-quality Swiss chocolates, nuts and nougats.