Love Story of Ruth and Ric Flores

MOM AND DAD ON THEIR SILVER WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Rachel narrating:

Staying together has a lot to do with sharing and enjoying each other’s company. Rarely do people stay together long when they are dissimilar. Tonight, I will show you that my Mom and Dad have a lot of dissimilarities yet they have been together 25 years.This is the reason we are gathered here, to celebrate their silver anniversary, proving opposites do attract. (Intro music: "Through the Years". Wedding picture of 1977 and now picture)

Mom has always lived in the city, likes city life so much that even in her choice of romance books during her teenage years, she preferred those with city setting. Dad, on the other hand, was born and raised in the province, San Fernando, La Union to be exact. So how did they meet, and come to terms with their differences and live a blissful wedded life for the past 25 years. There can only be one reason – true LOVE or TL as my Dad used to say "daw" to my Mom 30 years ago. (Pictures of Ruth with city background and Ric as a young boy with rural background – "PROMDI"

Although my Mom’s family lived in Taft Avenue, just a few doors away from De La Salle College where Dad obtained his LIACOM degree, they had not met in their college years. Mom was a UP girl, from high school at UP Prep to UP Diliman in college, where she finished her degree in Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, major in marketing.

(Pictures – Prep, college graduation) (Pictures: Taft house and De La Salle College; grad pictures)

10. While working in her first job at the Merchants BankingCorp. At Padre Faura, Mom took up more accounting units at the night classes of PSBA.

11. Mom had no intention yet of taking the review classes in 1971 because she hadn’t finished her last semester. However, she was persuaded by her professors to do so and at the same time be given credits for her remaining subjects. And there, my Dad saw her.

(Music:" First Time Ever I saw Your Face", pictures of Ruth in 1971)

12. According to Mom, she did not notice Dad. But Dad had his ways, specially with the registrar’s office, where he got her address and telephone number. Their first date was at Wells Fargo. (Picture of Mom in 1971) Music: "This Guy’s in Love with You" )

13. Dad was very persistent daw, Mom said. Music: "For Once in My Life"

14. But according to Dad… Forget it, Mom would not allow him a rebuttal after 25 years.

15. And the two two became "ON’ as they used to say at that time.

(Pictures of Ric and Ruth with "ON NA KAMI" stamped on them) )

16. Mom’s real ambition since finishing college was to travel to the US. So barely five months into their new- found love, she flew to the Big Apple. While Mom was in New york, she stayed with her eldest brother Jun. She also worked at McGraw Hill Publishing Company on Broadway Street. (Music – New York, New York) (Picture of airplane and Ruth with her luggage, Ric left behind)

(Pictures of Ruth in the US 1972-1973) )

17. Could this long distance relationship last? It did…Through letters they sent each other weekly. (Wala pang e-mail noong araw.)

18. Meanwhile, Dad, worked with RCBC, took up law at Ateneo, endured Aquila Legis initiation, and experienced Martial Law in 1972.

19. When Mom came back after one year in the U.S., they just picked up where they left off. Mom went to work at Bank of America in Makati.

(Pictures RCBC and BA group )

20. Dad and Mom were "ON" for 5 ½ years. After the bar results were known, Mom and Dad got married. The date was May 1, 1977.

21. They were married in an ecumenical service at the Central United Methodist Church in T.M. Kalaw Street, Ermita. A pastor and a priest officiated the rites.

22. Here, another major difference is hurdled. Mom comes from a protestant family, with a grandfather who was a bishop. Dad comes from a family of devout Roman Catholics.

(Pictures – wedding ; Music – "You and I"

23. And that is how their love story started …. and ended …. in marriage … and a life together just began.

Erika narrating:

24. During their first four years, Dad worked in their family business in La Union, while Mom stayed in Manila and continued working at BA. Dad came home only during weekends.

Hi! I’m Erika, the second by-product of a 25-year marriage. I was born when my older sister was only 1 year and 10 months .

I was already four hours old when my Dad first saw me because he had to come from La Union. He missed the labor part of Mom’s delivery. But he was the one who gave me my name, Erika, a female version of "Ric".

(Pictures – Collage of Erika’s baby, young girl and now pictures)

25. My parents never let the difference in their religion affect their relationship. They went to the 2 churches together and they educated their children in Catholic schools and raised them in the two churches also. They believe that the family that prays together, stays together. And for as long as they put Jesus in the center of their hearts, nothing else matters.

(Family pictures )

26. During the time that he was helping in their family’s rural banks in La Union, Dad put up his first business, a Magnolia ice cream parlor. For the family, a modern ten-pin bowling recreation center, the first of its kind in La Union.

27. In 1981, he decided to stay in Manila and practiced corporate law. He joined Philphos as head of Audit and Legal.

His five-year stay with Philphos enabled him to learn the fertilizer business. He was able to put up in 1985, Agrofactors Corporation as a distributor of both local and imported fertilizer. This corporation became the pioneer organization for all his other business undertakings like: Filam Drug Co., Tirefactors Corporation, a Goodyear Servitek; warehousing, Flotrans Inc., an LPG hauling and other trucking business; and Aspire Development Corporation which leases office and residential condos.

Dad was, and still is, a very hardworking G.I. , Genuine Ilocano.

(Pictures – prospecting prawn farming. Bullet tanks, Good Year blimp) Music – "Beat It" by Michael Jackson)

28. All throughout, Mom also worked her way up from being a clerk-typist to being a Senior Operations Manager, head of Cash Department at Bank of America. She juggled both her family and career at the same time. After 16 years, she opted for the "incentive package retirement" and left the bank in 1989.

After her "retirement", she played "senora" for a few months until she itched to work again. This time however, she joined Dad, in some of his businesses.

Ricky Boy narrating:

29. Her new job with my Dad’s business enabled Mom to have more flexible hours to devote to her children, especially to her one and only son.

30. Since we are all grown up now , Mom became more active in the daily operations of the family business and appointed herself "Treasurer" and holder of the purse.

31. She is really good in handling finances, with her educational background and her five years’ experience in handling the millions of Bank of America.

32. My Mom is very sweet and thoughtful. She never forgets birthdays, anniversaries, valentines, and all kinds of occasions.

Lately, he gives Mom carte blanche in buying her own gifts like: jewelry, Louis Vuitton , Ferragamo bags and shoes, a trip to Europe, or a new van, which she can use in her Soroptimist program. Sometimes , sweet din naman si Daddy, no, he ordered a special plate for her van sith Mom’s initials, RRF 111.

33. She has learned to give him allowance for his shortcomings, just as he has given her allowance for not being a good cook like her own Mother, my Lola Beng. Mom’s lack of cooking skills did not pose a problem in their married life for Dad’s favorites are simple – sinigang, paksiw and inihaw with his favorite La Union bagoong. So you see, Mom learned to work her way up to Dad’s heart through his stomach also by serving him sinigang na lapu-lapu with the help of Knorr sinigang powder, steamed shrimps, crabs, grilled tuna belly, and it would all be a feast to my Dad.

(pictures of Mom in her younger days, cooking; seafoods) )

34. My Dad is a KIA – the Know-It-All type. He is an architect, engineer, designer when it comes to making our house. (Picture of Dad with construction of a house background).
35. He is also a doctor. He increases and reduces the dosage of medicine prescribed to him whenever his blood sugar goes high or low, without consulting his doctor. My Mom naman is a doctor’s dream. She consults the doctor for everything, including her in-grown toe-nail. Pero nalusutan din siya. In spite of having a heart package check up yearly because of her palpitations, she almost had a heart attack five years ago, that led to her heart by-pass. She had a congenital defect, anomalous position of the artery. When Mom had the by-pass, Dad was really worried. He even neglected the construction of our beach house because he did not go La Union for about two months. He just stayed with Mommy.

35. Mom and Dad love to read. While Dad devours three newpapers a day, Time magazine and the Business World, Mom never ceased to read romance books before sleeping. This puts her to sleep every night

36. Being a quick dresser, Dad gives Mom a partida of 20 minutes to dress up first, but still, she manages to make him wait for another 15 minutes in the car everyday. Dad has a passion for cars. Mom couldn’t care less what kind it is as long as it goes with a driver.

37. Mom loves to organize "lakads" and projects. loves to entertain friends. Dad on the other hand, does not want to burden himself with these details. Our house is always the venue for Christmas parties, instant reunions of family and friends, meetings, and a review center for our classmates and hang-out of barkada.

38. She likes ballads, broadway and love songs while Dad hides his age by trying hard pretending to enjoy our kind of music. Mom loves to watch plays and concerts. Dad sleeps through them, even while watching the famous "Les Miserables" in Broadway, New York.

(Pictures of NY travel )

39. Mom takes to water like a fish and swims like one. Dad dislikes swimming but managed to fake it when he went to her outings during their courtship days. However, he built her a swimming pool and a beach house on their 20th^t year, which Mom said was 40 pounds too late.

They both enjoy jet skiing, though, and taking out their speed boat on a spin.

(Pictures of Ric and Ruth together in outings and their La Union beach house and jet skiing)

40. Mom loves dancing. Dad prefers to sit it out but allows her to have a DI at home and on occasions. Dad is very business minded. He always thinks of new business opportunities. Mom is very civic minded. She always thinks of how to make a difference in her Soroptimist and Kapatiran Kaunlaran projects.

(Soroptimist pictures)

Chelo:

41. Dad bonds with my brother Ricky Boy when they play golf together. Mom bonds with Ate and I when we go to the beauty parlor and go shopping weekly.

42. They are "hands on" parents. They both love to go to church every Sunday as a whole family and eat out afterwards. They both love to travel, bringing the three kids along. They both love to shop and window shop as well. They both love halo-halo, pomelo and ensaymadas. They seem to be able to send messages to each other when they get separated in malls.

(pictures of family : With Ricky Boy as a cub scout, with the two girls in a children’s party, family day, outings and travel) )

With more differences than similarities, why do you think they managed to last 25 years? Because Mom and Dad truly love each other. We, their children, can only give them the same love and respect and make them proud of us when my sister and I finish medical school and Ricky finishes business school. We can only hope that we also find true love with our future "significant" others who will share with us the same kind of love that Mom and Dad have for each other. The kind of love that is always patient, always kind, always protects, always trusts , always hopes and always perseveres.

(Pictures of couple and family)

All together (Video of the three children talking)

Happy 25^th Anniversary, Dad and Mom, may you reach your Golden wedding anniversary and may God continue to bless you with good health and happiness. We love you.

(Pictures of couple and family)