Judy Ann Santos On Mommy Carol: We Support Each Other Till The End

February 25 is special for Judy Ann Santos. It’s her Mommy Carol Lumagui’s birthday, and to mark the occasion, the actress shared snippets of their intimate celebration. 

"She’s Mommy Carol, Tita Kah, Mama Kah, kumare to many, but for us, she’s our one and only mom," Judy Ann wrote on her birthday shoutout along with photos of their family's intimate gathering to honor her mom on Instagram.

"We had our fair share of misunderstandings, tampuhans, at marami pang iba. But at the end of the day,  we are family. We will understand and support each other till the end," the mom of three shared.

"I love you, ma, from [the] moon and back. Thank you for giving life to all [of] us. Happiest birthday to our rock. Ikaw talaga ang “The Rock!” Judy Ann added. 

Judy Ann Santos realized Mommy Carol was right

The actress has always been inspired by her "tough mom," who was once an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Canada. Mommy Carol took on two to three jobs at a time to be able to send back balikbayan boxes filled with her kids "bilins." 

She may have missed many of her own kids' milestones, but "she’s happiest when we're happy. She’s the first person to feel our pain," Judy Ann wrote previously on a post Instagram. 

Now that she's a mom herself to a Yohan, Lucho, and Luna, Judy Ann has long before realized that Mommy Carol is right: There are things that a woman may never understand until she becomes a mom.

"Si Mommy lang would always tell me na... It's hard to say 'yes' to difficult decisions, like yun, going out with friends, you want to say 'yes,' but you do not trust pa the people around her," the actress recalled. "So you'll have to say 'no,' and then, at the end of the day, magkakatampuhan kayo," the actress said.

Judy Ann now faces the same dilemma when parenting daugther Yohan, who is now a teenager. The 41-year-old actress admitted before that she's had talks with her eldest daugther about having a crush and courtship.

She's thankful for having a responsible panganay to be a role model for her younger kids. Mommy Carol also said Judy Ann would have a child that's just like her, and the actress sees it in Yohan, who shows a little resistance but  listens to her. 

The mom of three has been starting to accept that her kids would grow up — one aspect of parenthood that Mommy Carol said was not easy for her to do when Judy Ann got married in 2009. She acknowledged that stepping back for her daughter's happiness is something parents must do sooner or later.