For the first few years of our lives it was just us, my mom, my sister and me. You might be familiar with the story. Our dad was working hard “en el norte”, while our mom raised us in a small town in Mexico. Her pride and joy was seeing us in matching dresses with awful bows that topped our gel-tight braids. Eventually we’d fall victims to matching neon track suits. When we weren’t in school, we were together working at a little corner store. We’d sell sugar doughnuts we’d make early in the morning. I remember sleeping on a foam topper that rested on colorful Mexican tile, and waking up to gather Tupperware that we’d use to cut out the circles. This wasn’t a chore, it was something we looked forward to. To this day the smell of sweet sugar reminds us of those mornings.
Every Sunday after 6 o’clock mass, if we behaved—we always did—mom promised to buy us “churritos and papitas con sal y limon”. HEAVEN. It was always the little things. From the very start there was an intrinsic need to take care of each other. Whether it was waking up with a smile to help, or behaving so our mom wouldn’t be upset. Not having dad around—her husband—was enough burden, and at a young age we knew that. For special occasions we’d pick flowers, or dress up and put on a show in the living to make her happy. Gifts for us were made of moments, memories, feelings. While we didn’t have the means to provide a lavish gift, anything we did give her was given with love. Now that we are older we talk about how much she gave us constantly: the lessons, the hugs, the LOVE. We always had everything we needed because we had each other.
We continuously feel thankful and inspired by the woman who raised us so we wanted to share some of those moments with you. We've put together a couple of gift sets that remind us of our mom. Send a token of your appreciation to your mother, a mother figure, or a friend—we know motherhood is not easy, and it comes in more than one form. Now, more than ever mommas everywhere could use a little time to feel special.
Here's to all the moms - Gracias, Ama!
I was not planning on crying. This is a beautiful post.