Odette Pumaren wears many hats. She’s one you’d like to run into at parties because she is always oozing with energy and style. One glance, whether she is a friend or not, and you know she’s fun. She’s also girl boss, VP at Luminax, a company involved in design and construction, particularly of sports facilities, where she is in charge of business development and strategic partnerships. But of all the hats she wears, she is most happy wearing that of a family woman, wife and life partner to basketball hero and Quezon City representative Franz Pumaren and mother of three, Luigi, Nico, and Maxine. It’s a role she cherishes the most, what she considers her proudest life work, so even now that her children are all grown, raised to be independent, always able to stand their own, Odette sees to it that they continue to strengthen their bonds and make more family memories, if only on Sundays when they are all most available. This is why, to Odette, Sunday is sacred. “Having a busy family means less time to connect,” she says. “So I really look forward to being with them on Sunday, sharing stories about their experiences over the week.”

What is your idea of a perfect Sunday?

It would be a day spent catching up with my family after a long work week. 

Best word to describe Sunday

Sacred 

Book you recommend as a Sunday read

Daily devotions like Jesus Calling by Sarah Young 

Best Sunday companion

The best Sunday companion is always the family, with whom to reconnect and recharge. But, aside from family, if I could be with someone I’d really like to meet on a Sunday, it would be Michelle Obama. I have always admired and looked up to her. 

What is the most extravagant thing you could think of having or doing on a Sunday? 

It would be traveling. My family and I enjoy traveling to new places, trying different cuisines, and exploring new cultures. 

What would be the perfect topic for Sunday brunch conversation? 

Having a busy family means less time to connect, so I really look forward to being with them on Sunday, sharing stories about their experiences over the week. Most of the time we talk about politics. 

Best movie or series that once made your Sunday

Currently, it’s Nobody Wants This, the romcom starring Adam Brody as a newly single rabbi and Kristen Bell as a cynical sex podcaster. I’m a hopeless romantic.

A quotable quote about Sunday that’s made for you

I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. —Philippians 4:13

What does “wear your Sunday best” mean to you?

Sunday best means exactly what it does. It’s about putting your best foot forward, taking the time to honor the day, whether it’s through personal style or the significance of the activities planned. 

If you were to write a book about the Sundays of your life, what would be the title? 

Sunday Kind of Love

Best Sunday ever in your memory

The best Sunday is whenever our family, including my parents and siblings, also nephews and nieces are complete. It’s always nice when, complete as a family, we hear mass together, especially since everyone is busy working during the week. The best Sunday ever is really about just taking the time to catch up and unwind together with the people you love the most. 

Worst Sunday in your life

The worst Sunday is when a family member is ill. 

If Sunday were a flavor, what would this flavor be?

I associate Sundays with my mom’s famous kare kare and salmon sinigang. 

Where in the world would you like to be next Sunday, if you can just go there by magic?

I would transport myself to Paris.