Born just before the First World War, she looks back with a sense of incredulousness at all the many past years and like all of "the survivors", she feels with some self satisfaction that she has been tested and tried.
Like all young married couples before the Second World War, she and her husband, Jose F. Oreta, went through the whole gamut. From the very beginning, they worked hard–he as a struggling young lawyer, she as a teacher just out of school (Philippine Normal School). "I was earning eighty pesos a month," Nena laughs. They had three children–all boys–and they cared for and protected them throughout the hardships and deprivations of the Japanese Occupation and the Battles for Liberation.
Life in the years after the war were happy years. Her husband had risen in his career and ultimately became a much respected judge. She was "just a housewife" but says"it was not exactly a quiet life; raising three bright and spirited boys was a fulltime job". Her youngest son, Mario A. Oreta, now a very successful lawyer, says of her, "Our mother was a disciplinarian–she saw to it that we obeyed all the rules. What she says goes–she was the boss. She was strict–but she was tender."
"Strict but tender" was also the tribute paid to their mother by her other sons, Dr. Jose F. Oreta Jr. and former MMDA Chairman Prospero A. Oreta. All three give credit to their mother for much of their later success. They recount with obvious affection that even now that they are all senior citizens, she continues checking up on them. "She calls us up every morning–usually at six o’clock in the morning when all the rest of the world is sleeping–to find out how we are. When any of us gets sick, she comes over to our houses to check on how we are being taken care of–to the chagrin of our wives! Whenever there is a problem she is there for us."
Obviously her three sons love and admire their mother and they are her pride and joy. It’s not for nothing that Nena has received many an "Outstanding Mother" award from various organizations.
But she also takes pride in the fact that even after she became a widow in 1971 she lived independently (in a fashionable condo attended to by her two faithful retainers). "I have a room in the houses of all my sons, but I use them only when I visit," she says, "and I handle my own finances." That, too, is a part of her successful motherhood style. Independent and self-sufficient but always "there" when her children, 12 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren need her.
After her husband’s death when she was 56 she opened a jewelry store on Rizal Avenue at which she worked for many years. "I have worked hard all my life," she says, again with some justifiable pride.
After many long and fruitful active years, Nena Oreta at 92 now has retired to enjoy the "rich harvest" she fully deserves. Life now is easy and pleasant for her but never dull because every day is full of activity. 32 years ago when she turned 60, she discovered the joys of dancing. "We formed the first dancing club," she recounts, "I and Chiching Tuason, Nitang Lopez, Sonia Santos, Celia Jison and their mother Nanay Gamboa and a few others."
She attributes her health and energy to regular dancing plus the loving care of her doctor son. At 92 she still can do a fast boogie and a spirited swing. At age 75, she started having voice lessons and at intermissions at the dance sessions, it is not unusual for the crowd to be told "the next number is a song by Doña Nena Oreta". She has sung with some of the leading singers in town.
Aside from dancing and singing, another of her pleasant pasttimes is regular afternoon mahjong sessions with her close friends. "I serve them lunch, merienda and dinner," she says, and in return she gets a few tidbits of the latest talk around town.
Lively and pretty and always well dressed and well groomed, Nena Oreta’s joy of living is obvious and remarkable. Mario Oreta speaks for all her sons when he says, "We all are happy that she is enjoying the good life she deserves." And smiling serenely, Nina Oreta says, "It’s nice to be young–but it is a blessing to be old and find life still good."