| Unofficial Website of Ms. Janice de Belen |
| Part 3 S.I.S. FILES |
| �We manage somehow,� says Gelli. �If others can, so can we.� Case in point: Gelli successfully trained Julio to throw trash in the garbage can. In fact, Gelli laughs, �he throws everything in there. Even Ariel�s cellphone!� THE De Belens will stop at nothing to instill in their children the importance of knowing one�s roots, one�s family history. That�s why Gelli would think nothing of flying halfway across the globe, just to bring her boys to Ariel�s parents and relatives who are based in Canada. Gelli and Janice also make it a point to visit their mom (Susan) and dad (Philip), with their kids in tow, as often as their busy sche-dules would allow. �I want my children to know the importance of family,� Gelli explains. �Family is the best. Family will always look out for you. No matter what you say, no matter what you do, in the end, they�ll always be your family and they�ll always be there for you. As they say: blood is thicker than water.� Janice once mused about her extra-ordinary sibling relationship with Gelli. �You know, it doesn�t necessarily mean that just because we�re sisters, we�re obligated to tell each other everything. If I want to ask you something, I�ll ask you. But most of the time, I respect your privacy until you open up.� She said this five years ago, and as has been mentioned, her views have changed somewhat since then. As for Gelli, even then she had a different take on the issue. �We just talk, kuwentuhan lang. We talk about anything and everything.� Aside from chika time, Gelli and Janice have other common interests. They�re both self-confessed couch potatoes who would rather stay home than go malling. Another passion they share (aside from chatting, cross-stitching, reading books and watching movies at home) is cooking. In fact, they plan to put up a coffeeshop called Sis Cafe (what else?), the first branch of which will be housed in the Weigh Less Center and Spa along Roces Avenue in Quezon City. Janice, who whips up �a mean callos, caldereta, ginataang alimango, Bicol express, and spicy spaghetti,� will team up with Gelli, a sister connoisseur, in the kitchen. Gelli experiments with all sorts of recipes, but spaghetti is her specialty and her kids� favorite. �In fact, they don�t like to eat it with sauces. They prefer their noodles plain.� �It�ll be just a small snack bar, where Gelli and I can serve our favorite pasta dishes,� Janice beams. �Merienda fare lang. And all the menu items will be prepacked, so it will not be too time-consuming for us.� After all, they are both busy working moms. (Janice also plans to go back to school and take up psychology, while Gelli has her hands full with her two boys.) When they were but small girls still preoccupied with stuffed toys, Janice and Gelli shared a bedroom. There was also a time, before Janice got hitched, when they lived under one roof, on their own, away from their parents. Now, they live on opposite ends of the city, but they see each other more often than when they were growing up. Indeed, their enviable relationship has evolved through the years. It has become stronger as they have grown wiser. |
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