Happy Mother’s Day! Feliz dia de la Madre!
LIKE THE EARTH, like the waters, like the sky…like Mama Nature herself who loves us down to our bones, and even when we’re bad, or wrong, or all alone. Where would we be in this world without our mothers?
Art by David Siquieros
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY and Feliz Dia de las Madres to all you mothers out there, who so often are the ones making sure to keep the children safe and strong. My own mother was the constant in my life. And even after nana (my maternal grandmother) split with her husband (my grandfather) it was nana who took us in. And she took us in because my mother needed a place to live, after splitting with my own father. In my nanita’s case (paternal grandmother), mi abuelo Felipe died and once again, it was a mother who took care of her son. On my mother’s side, it was Mollie who jumped on a ship and came to the US, fleeing nazi violence in Eastern Europe. All down la linea on both sides…it is women who moved us forward when we may have faltered.
The men never seem to last long, for many varied reasons. Tatarabuelo Alejo, the Zapata-esque pulquería worker, died shortly after 40. His son, Felipe, died early of diabetes and it was mi abuela who kept things going. My own father had jungles in México to explore or maybe Califas needed him more. But these things happen in a world. Today we focus on the women: they sacrifice so much to take care of us…and too often receive blame for what goes wrong. In the better moments, the children give back, remembering what they owe. As was with the case with cousins Geno, Roberto, y Vicente who joined the US Army to bring us into the US. That’s how Nanita got her green card. And there is good reason Mexicanos celebrate la Madre.
Like the earth, like the waters, like the sky—like mama nature herself who loves us down to our bones and even when we’re bad, or wrong, or all alone…
Happy Mother’s Day. You are appreciated.
Tags: Family, Mother's Day
Posted in Borders, History, Immigration, Mexico, Mother Nature, Mujeres, Narratives, Que Viva las Mujeres, U.S.A.
this is very sweet
I miss my YiaYia (grandmother) dearly, her unconditional love was a cosntant in my life and I thought she was superwoman. And while my mom didn’t seem like a traditional mom when my dad was away with the military (she poured herself into her work as a schoolteacher and my brother and I shared her with her many other children, her students) she held herself together for me and my brother the best way she knew how. She often had to do things that were out of her comfort zone (I had medical problems and she was terrified of doctors as well as driving on bridges but she handled a drive over bridges to get me to doctors appointments, and I can never know what it feels like to sit there helpless when your daughter is having an operation…) and her example has taught me that sometimes when you know you have to do something, to get through it, you can find a way.
that’s a very valuable lesson, for sure.
thanks malicia.