Giselle
Mommy nurtured my love of reading. She bought me books and took me to the library—even during typhoons—so I would always have something to read when we were stuck at home.
When I passed the entrance exam to UP, I was thrilled, then immediately wondered how I would manage the daily 1 hour commute to Diliman. I wasn’t even 16 when I started college, so Ma accompanied me every day, taking the early morning bus until I was old enough to make the journey on my own.
Whenever things went wrong, she had a quiet way of putting life into perspective. She would tell me, “Giselle, you have a brain. You can lose everything, but you will always have your brain. You can begin again. Don’t be afraid.”
When our restaurants in New York suffered during Covid, I held tightly to those words. I carried on and, in time, found my footing again. In this perilous and ever-changing business world, I still hear her voice reminding me: “You can lose everything and start again. You have your brain—it will never fail you.”
Mommy was always my champion, and because of that, I found myself doing so many things simply to make her happy. Although Roberto and I were not practicing Catholics, we chose to have a church wedding as an offering of love to her.
After the pandemic, as many New Yorkers began relocating, the CEO of Blackrock urged us to move to Palm Beach, where many of our regulars were heading. My first reaction was, “No way.” I thought of Florida the way many New Yorkers think of New Jersey (sorry, NJ). But a year later, we made the move for Mommy, so she could enjoy endless sunshine and the ocean always in view.
It turned out to be one of the best decisions we ever made. Palm Beach and West Palm Beach were booming, and before long, Roberto’s restaurant became the area’s number 1 fine-dining Italian restaurant.
Looking back, I realize that so many of the turning points in my life were shaped by the same woman who had once taken me to the library through typhoons: Mommy, always beside me, quietly teaching me that wherever life takes you, you can begin again.
