Skip to main content

Elsa:A Tribute

What can I say?She's my mom. And if you know me, you know my mom. We are the same in some ways and yet very different in others.
She had me at the age of fifteen and came to the Main Land with four kids and not speaking one lick of English. Determined to start a better life for herself and her children. She left all that was familiar to her...her family, her friends, her country to escape abuse and pain. Coming to New York she thought that she would encounter something better, only to receive some of the same that she had left. Yet through it all she didn't give up and she definetly did not give us up. Though I am sure that it would've been an easier life for her not to have four children tagging along.
She was your typical mom...chancleta (sometimes "la correa) and all. She had our cultural sayings and there was always arroz, habichuelas and pollo frito...she tried to make the best of what was thrown at her. I would see her cry many times but after a good cry she would get back up again continue fighting. She was never a quitter. And she still isn't...believe me!
There were many times as a young girl and sometimes as a young woman that I wanted to be different from her. I wanted to be of a different culture. I wanted to run away from who I was and who I belonged to. But now, I am thankful for the woman that my mom demonstrated for me to model. She gets me mad sometimes but I will not deny her the "props" that she deserves. She is my mom...strong and proud. And so, I am too, strong and proud. I don't quit quite so easily if at all. And I love cooking my Puerto Rican food and talking my "spanglish." I too find myself walking around "con una chancleta." And I remember. I remember running under the bed trying to hide from her after I lost "respeto." Man, I was hiding for my life. She was trying to teach me something even then.
She really was slow to anger. She taught me so much and is still doing it today. We may not agree on many things and we may do things differently. But she is my mom and I love her.
Thank you, Mami for never giving up on me and for always thinking the best. For fighting for me and always having my back. Thank you for sacrificing your life for mine and for always instilling in me strength and perserverance. For always being there in sime of the most hardest times of my life. For creating a home where my family and I love going to to get away. For your love and shoulder. For always being willing to listen and taking my side too. And for telling me the truth even when I did not want to hear it.
I love you and I honor you. You are a woman of strength and I am proud to call you my mami!
Ruty

Comments

  1. "Beautiful" very nice words. I'm your Mami is so very proud of you too..xox's

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Sleeping Giant Needs to Wake Up!

Lately, I have been reading articles and watching the news and noticing that there is a trend going on. I don't know if you have noticed it or not. You may even be experiencing it at work or in your own community. Last night I read an article about ABC wanting to pilot a show called, "Good Christian B****es." It is a show about women in the church and their depiction. It is similar to "Desperate Housewives" in a whole other form. When the periodical "Christianity Today" was contacted about how offensive the name and content of the show was to them, they chose not to fall for the trap. But someone did say in the same article, "I would highly doubt that you would see a show titled, "Good Muslim B****es" or "Good Jewish B****es." Why is it okay for Christians to be bashed and depicted in such a manner. I am not naive to think that we are perfect or gossip-free. I have been in ministry long enough to know that we struggle with the ...

Seasons

Last night, I shared on the season's in a woman's life. All of us are in different season's. Many of us have gone through the same or similar seasons as the other. Some of us have raised our children already and are now empty nesters, some of us are just now raising our children. There are some of us who may be going through a divorce or have been widowed. Then some of us may have just received a promotion or gotten a new house or just had a baby. Maybe you are newly married. In every season of our lives there is something to learn. The season, whether painful or joyful is not in vain. It isn't just for us to go through it. We are to learn from it, whatever God may desire, and it is meant to bring comfort to another woman in your life. I have learned that in every season of my life, God has been there. Even when I should have been silent and spoken out of turn to try to get my point across. Verse 7 in Ecclesiastes says, "there is a time to keep silent and a time to...

One of Those Days

So today has already been "one of those days." Got up late; later than my littlest guy. Made a quick breakfast of cereal and toaster waffles. Ran around rushing them and me, trying to get out of the house before 8 so they wouldn't be late for school. Made lunches. Begged my husband to pack my lunch while I got dressed. Couldn't shower. Forgot to brush my teeth...don't judge me! Put on two different shades of purple or pink (does it matter? They are both hideous). And what I'm wearing is way too tight. Yes, muffin top exposed to the fullest. Thank God that my jeans were in my car and have been for two days since coming out of the gym. I couldn't kiss my kids because they were running late so when I dropped them off at the school they had to run in. Didn't pray with them either. It's been one of those days already and it's only 9:24 in the morning. I pray that your day has started out so much better than mine. And I pray that my kids take all t...