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Part One
PEOPLE
magazine’s recent “100 Most Beautiful People” list has
actress Kate Hudson at No. 1. Being the daughter of
Academy Award winner Goldie Hawn, who has been the
common-law wife to seasoned actor Kurt Russell for about
three decades, Hudson is showbiz royalty. More than
anything,
Hudson is a single mom. She has a four-year-old son named Ryder
Russell Robinson, from a previous marriage to Chris
Robinson, vocalist of the blues-rock group Black Crowes
(“Hard To Handle,” “She Talks To Angels”). For the
“Most Beautiful List,”
Hudson
beats beautiful new mothers like Isla Fisher, Salma
Hayek, Jennifer Lopez and Halle Berry, as well as
moms-to-be Jessica Alba, Angelina Jolie (pregnant again
with significant other Brad Pitt’s twins) and nine
times-listed Nicole Kidman.
With
Hudson being the most beautiful person on our planet, we
pay tribute to her counterparts in our beloved shores:
the single-moms in the fast-paced and, thus, highly
stressful biosphere that is Metro Manila and beyond.
ROSS ONG, works hard for
daughter Czarinna.
The
BusinessMirror was able to interview four single mothers
belonging to different generations, and we were amazed
at how they function as both father and mother to their
kids.
In a
poor country inhabited by people who love sob stories
with happy endings, here are their true-to-life
telenovelas.
Surviving in a tropical city that never sleeps
RAISED
and still residing in
Makati City,
26-year-old Ross Ong survives with her seven-year-old
daughter Czarinna. A full-time mother by day, Ross
functions at night as Subject Matter Expert (SME)-supervisor
in the main headquarters of People Support, a call
center located in the heart of the country’s premier
business district.
Ross was
still in college when she got pregnant by her boyfriend,
now based in the US. At the time, having earned the ire
of their parents, they were challenged to raise Czarinna
on their own.
She was
on her fifth month of pregnancy when her boyfriend’s
petition to the US was granted. “At first, I thought it
was a blessing in disguise since we really needed a
bigger source of income to raise our daughter. [After he
left] I was in the most delicate episode of my life,
with no one to depend on but myself,” she told the
BusinessMirror.
In what
she described as a very small apartment with only a
single bulb and a small fan, she raised her baby with
the help of an aunt. She recounted, “I began from
scratch. All of the money that my boyfriend was sending
went to the baby. The expenses from hospital bills to
milk and all were intolerable. During the first year, I
did not complain, simply because I knew I couldn’t. I
chose this direction [for my life] and I had to stand up
for it.”
Seeing a
bleak future if she remained a stay-home mother, she
expressed her desire to go back to college again,
graduate and work. Her boyfriend disapproved the idea.
“As I
was seeing my daughter grow up, the desire in me to
provide her a great future became more intense. I wanted
more for her than what I enjoyed when I was a child. I
was fully aware that with her dad only working, my
dreams for my kid will just perish.”
Ross
decided to apply for a job without telling her US-based
boyfriend. When he found out, the conflicts began.
“He
called me every day and night drunk and verbally
harassed me. I can still remember how I cried to death
when he accused me of sexual promiscuity. Meanwhile, he
had several affairs during our relationship—these are
based on solid evidence, not on suspicions. I have told
no one until now, not even my family because I didn’t
want them to lose [their] respect for him. I still
wanted them to see him as the father of my child. God
knows I tried my best to save my family. I never stopped
praying that, one day, he would change back into the man
that I fell in love with. But I guess it was too late.”
The man
in question would only visit them at least one month
every year. But whenever he was around, the situation
would only get worse.
“Our
fights went on, to the point that some became physical,
which brought me back to my senses. I didn’t want my
baby to grow up in that kind of environment. I’d rather
be alone and face the adversity of the life I chose than
to be trapped in a family that never was. Finally, I
told myself, ‘It’s over.’ My relationship with her
father lasted for three long difficult years.”
The
father of Czarinna still sends money for child support
but they already lead separate lives. Czarinna will be
in second grade this coming school year.
“I
cannot thank her more for bringing home exemplary
grades. Inna is a very bright, loving and sensitive
daughter. She loves art, science, animals, music and
math. She loves her family, her friends. She wants to be
an architect when she grows up. She is more than what a
mother could wish for a daughter. She is staying with me
and my Aunt Susan, who is like her second mom. My aunt
was the one who had helped me surpass this tough
journey.”
As for
the father, he and Ross remain friends. “Our
relationship as friends is way better than when we’re
together as a couple. We both agreed that it’s healthier
for the three of us this way. For the first time, we
agreed on a common goal, which is to give our daughter
the love and affection she needs. We may not be living
under one roof, but we promised to each other that we
are going to give Inna the good life she deserves.”
At work,
because of her perseverance and efficiency, Ross was
recently promoted to the current supervisory position
she holds even though she hasn’t finished college yet,
which is a major requirement. The management decided to
make an exemption on her case.
As a
single mother in the fast-paced environment she’s
learned to thrive in, Ross has no regrets. “Anything
that can’t kill you will just make you stronger. I may
not have the wonderful life that everybody dreams about
having, but I will not change anything in my past. That
chapter of my life has brought me magnificent education
that no school can offer.”
Next week: Mar-vic Cagurangan |
