"Hindi naman stage mom. Gusto ko lang talaga na 'yong mga ganoong moments, nandoon ako. Kasi siyempre, once in a lifetime 'di ba? No matter how small or big the role is o kaya the event is, you just want to be there for them."
Mozzy Ravena on showing her support for her three kids, Kiefer, Thirdy and Dani.
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(Part 1 of 3) Already a mom of two boys, former volleyball player Mozzy Ravena whispered a prayer in her heart unto God: may she be given a baby girl.
That prayer was answered soon enough, when her eldest, Kiefer, was six, and her then youngest, Thirdy, was three.
"Yes, of course! Siyempre, gusto naming magka-baby girl," shared Mozzy, wife of ex-PBA star Bong Ravena.
"So, after two boys, sabi ko, lang, 'Sige, in God's time kung kailan ibibigay.' And medyo nagmadali naman si God so naibigay naman kaagad," added Mozzy, now a television sports analyst and team manager of Akari in the Premier Volleyball League.
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That daughter was Dani.
Now all grown up at 25 years old, Dani shared a smile with her mother as they sat beside each other for an exclusive interview with One Sports Profiles.
But while Mozzy longed to have a daughter, having her still felt surreal that she had to check — and double check — her ultrasound results to make sure that she indeed would be a mom to a baby girl.
"Siguro, nagpa-ultrasound ako nang mga four times," laughed Mozzy. "Parang ayoko pa rin masyadong maniwala."
She even chose gender neutral colors in preparing her soon-to-be third child's things.
"So noong mga baby stuff niya, ang binibili [kong colors], mint green, yellow, para lang sure. Kasi hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala. Pero ayun nga, buti naman, pink na pink," Mozzy went on, laughing.
As she finally gave birth to her daughter, Dani, excitement poured in.
Here was a baby girl whom she could dress up in cute, colorful clothes and shoes and whose hair she could fix in different styles.
"Noong ipinanganak si Dani, siguro hanggang five years old na 'yong [mga binili kong] damit niya sa sobrang excitement!" said Mozzy.
"Even the colors. Mas marami kang puwedeng gawin sa hair, 'yong shoes. 'Yong mga ganon.”
While one would typically expect a baby girl to be a sweet and demure addition to the family, it was the exact opposite for Dani.
It turned out that she was the most energetic of the bunch — so much more than her two kuyas.
"Actually, of the three — 'yon pa ang medyo nakakagulat — kasi siya lang 'yong only girl pero siya 'yong pinakamakulit, tumatakbo," said Mozzy as Dani laughed beside her.
"'Yong mga acrobatic, mga ganiyan. Siya talaga 'yan. Si Kiefer, wala, sobrang hindi 'yan kumikibo masyado. Si Thirdy naman, kaunti. Si Dani, to the highest level tayo diyan sa paghahabol."
Upon hearing that, Dani, who followed her mom's footsteps and became a volleyball player at Ateneo in college and with Akari in the pros, flashed a big smile and gave two thumbs up.
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'I want to be more like my mom'
Fashion is one of the common interests of the mother-daughter pair.
What started as a simple bonding over buying trinkets at what Dani called her "favorite anik-anik store" in Greenhills, the Regina Gift Shop, grew to a shared love for what her mom Mozzy has in her closet.
A bonding that has become more expensive, they joked.
"Oo nga! Medyo masakit na ngayon, ha! Fifty pesos lang dati, ha [ang nagagastos]," quipped the elder Ravena.
Dani explained: "I grew up loving my mom's fashion sense. I look up to her, not just her attitude, but also the way she carries herself.
"Sabi ko nga i-ready niya na. Hindi na ako magsya-shopping masyado kasi nakaabang na ako sa mga cabinet niya."
Mozzy interjected: "Grabe, buhay pa ako!"
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Aside from their love for fashion, Dani said that another similarity she shares with her mom is their "wais" approach to life.
"I want to be more like my mom," said Dani.
"I think 'yong pagiging smarte ko sa buhay or wais ko, I got it from my mom.”
Nothing is permanent, added Dani, so she never takes things for granted — a mindset that is rooted in the persistent reminders of her mother.
But while her mom is more calculated with her decisions, Dani described herself as the more adventurous one.
"I'm more adventurous. She's more calculated, which is smart, but for me, it's like, 'Bahala na!' If the universe will let it be, let it be. But that's more on my personality. She's really more on: it has to be smart, calculated and really prepared and protected in the future," said Dani.
Mozzy described Dani, her most energetic child, as also the bravest.
"Si Dani, ano 'yan, free-spirited. Of all of us, siya 'yong pinaka-brave," said Mozzy of her only girl, who smiled with what her mother has just said.
"To travel on her own, 'yong mga ganyan. Ako talaga, 'Hoy, grabe, Dani!' Minsan siya pa 'yong, 'Halika, Ma, punta ka rito. Tara.' Ako 'yong, 'Huh?'" said Mozzy.
"Kasi ako, hindi ko naman 'yon na-experience kasi I married early, so natutuwa rin ako. Sometimes when I see her, 'Nakakainggit naman ito!" she added, drawing laughter from both of them.
But no matter how calculated she approaches life, Mozzy encourages Dani to spread her wings.
"Basta alam mo lang na safe palagi, enjoy lang. Enjoy life. It's hard na nga tapos ayaw mo pang i-enjoy what little chances or opportunities you have. Enjoy lang tayo lahat. Happy lang," said Mozzy.
Thus, Mozzy, who married and built a family early, lives vicariously through her mini-me.
She wedded former University of the East mainstay Bong when she was 20, and he, 21. She had her first baby, Kiefer, at 23.
"She is the biggest reminder na I have to enjoy life. She's the one pushing me to explore the world, explore things. Kasi she knows also na there were things na she wished she could have done when she was younger," said Dani through tears.
A message or two from Dani during her travels would help ease her worries, said Mozzy.
"Basta again, sinasabi ko nga, calculate. I mean, safety first. Siyempre, nakakatakot din when she's alone, so as long as she communicates, okay naman 'yan because you're only young once," said Mozzy of her daughter who has just enjoyed a trip to Siargao prior to the sit-down interview.
This rule of constantly sharing her whereabouts with her mother actually irked Dani when she was young.
"Growing up, compared to my brothers, she was really stricter with me. Noong una, I didn't get it. I didn't understand why kasi I felt na I'm also in the sport while I was in college, same lang with my brothers; I'm also doing this and that pero bakit medyo mas strict sa'kin?" shared Dani.
"I wouldn't say 24/7 nakabantay, but it's more on she always has to know where I'm at or what I'm doing, who I'm with. Siyempre noong bata ako, there's a part of it na annoying. It's like, 'Mom, I'm grown!' I thought na matanda na ako, kaya ko na ito, just let me be.
Pero in the end, na-realize ko — more so now — na you're never too old to ask for help, you're never too old to really call for mom or dad.”
Dani, the adventurous soul, could only thank her mom for being her safety net, her constant one-call-away who will always be there should she stumble and fall.
"I'm more on the adventurous side and I'm lucky enough na I can be that way because of her. Because I know na even if I do have mistakes and a bit of hurdles here and there, my mom is just a call away," said Dani.
"I'm always blessed and I never take it for granted na I have that kind of support system no matter how old I am or no matter what challenges na life will bring me."
(To be continued)
With reports from Kiko Demigillo; Photos by RM Chua, assisted by Xander Cipriano and Kiko Demigillo; Hair and makeup by Maria Becar Austria; Produced by Kristina Villanueva