When Aly Mendoza, 22, opened her email inbox three weeks ago and saw that her father had sent her a message, she thought she would have a heart attack. “Who wouldn’t be scared to get and open an email from someone who passed away 10 months ago,” she writes in a now-viral Facebook post.
It turned out to be a scheduled email from her dad, Bing, with detailed instructions on the 25th silver wedding anniversary celebration he had planned for him and wife Joji, 53. Unfortunately, Bing passed away in August 2019 due to chronic kidney disease. He was 54 years old.
A screenshot of Bing's email to his daughter.PHOTO BY courtesy of Aly MendozaADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW“Apparently, before my dad passed away, he planned everything. He even contacted and paid for a florist to deliver flowers to my mom for the coming years on every special occasion — my mom’s birthday (August 19), Valentine’s Day, and their anniversary (June 10,” Ali writes.
In his email, Bing tells his daughter, “Alyssa, follow my instructions in this email completely and carefully. I am sending this to you in the off chance that I’m not in my right mind or worse, gone.”
The planned celebration
Aly's parents, Bing and Joji.PHOTO BY courtesy of Aly MendozaCONTINUE READING BELOWwatch nowIn his email, Bing listed down his plans for the surprise. “Ask Mommy what she wants to eat and make a reservation for the three of us. If she says whatever you want, force her to pick. Hopefully, I’ll be able to drive already his time next year. Otherwise, you will so PRACTICE.”
He adds, “If I’m still in this condition and I pray not, knowing your mom she’ll say just order food and have it delivered. Make sure you get exactly what she wants.”
With 25 years of marriage, Bing knew his wife well. “Try to look for some decorations kasi mahilig mag-picture ang mommy mo para maganda mga picture,” he told Aly.
“Not even death could stop my dad from loving my mom and showing her how much she meant to him.”
Making ‘dada’s’ surprise come true
Aly's mom could not help but cry after realizing her husband planned the surprise before his death.PHOTO BY courtesy of Aly MendozaADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOWBecause of the community quarantine, Aly planned to celebrate her mom and dad’s silver wedding anniversary at home. She shopped for the decorations online, printed their photos on photo paper, and enlisted the help of their kasambahay.
On the evening of June 9, Aly and their helper got ready for the surprise, while Joji was asleep. “I followed all of my dad’s instructions. Our helper and I started setting up for mom’s surprise at 11:00 p.m. last night and finished at 5:30 a.m. just in time for mom’s daily alarm (6 a.m.),” Aly wrote.
Naturally, her mom became emotional when she realized what her late husband had planned. She also cried seeing the bouquet that Bing had picked out for her — made of white and pink roses which holds a special meaning for the couple.
"White roses are special to my parents because when my dad was courting her, my mom had two suitors. She told herself that whoever gives her white roses was ‘the one’ and obviously it was my dad who gave her white roses. Pink roses because dada knows that mamu loves light pink roses,” Aly writes.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOWHe even wrote a letter to her, “which had all the words she needed to hear from him to be okay.”
Love is eternal
Bing picked out the flowers to be included in the bouquet — white and pink roses which holds a special meaning for the couple.PHOTO BY courtesy of Aly MendozaIn an interview with SmartParenting.com.ph, Aly, who is an only child, shares that she and her mom were “absolutely broken” when her father passed away. “I actually got really sick while my mom’s sister took her on a trip so that she could get her mind off losing my dad since everything in Manila reminded her of him,” she says. Now her mom preoccupies herself with her online business, “Iya’s Tummy Yummies.” She says it was her dad who thought of the name.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOWAly remembers her dad as “an amazing man who had everything but remained simple, humble, and quiet.” She says that her parents’ love for each other was pure and intense. While they had disagreements like every other husband and wife, “they will never let anything get in the way of their love for each other.” She says they are “as perfect as a couple could get.”
“[They taught me that] patience, honesty, loyalty, and communication are the keys to a successful relationship,” she shares.
Aly writes, "My mom cried because she misses the love of her life but I could see how happy everything made her because she knew that everything was planned by my dad."PHOTO BY Screenshot from @alymndz/InstagramADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOWIn that sense, Aly was not surprised that her father had meticulously planned the wedding anniversary even while he was sick. Still, she could not help but be amazed. “He would always surprise us at the most unexpected times with the most unexpected things, but this was truly on another level,” she said. “My dad wanted everything to be a secret so he made the florist promise not to give us any information, not even how he paid for it.”
Reading the email he sent made Aly happy because once again her dad showed how much he loved her mom. He even wrote a letter for his wife, “which had all the words she needed to hear from him to be okay.”
“They were supposed to celebrate their 25th silver wedding anniversary together today but God had other plans,” Aly wrote on Facebook. “But even if they’re not physically together, even though he’s no longer here, he was still able to surprise and make my mom happy. Not even death could stop my dad from loving my mom and showing her how much she meant to him.”
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOWWatch their story here:
Do you believe love is forever? One wife has kept the love letters her husband sent her since 1964. Read their story here.
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