Today's post features my wonderful mother. I absolutely love this woman. 

Each Sunday I meet with my Catholic college group from my parish (Legacy). We either a meal or snacks on snacks, or baked goods or more than usual, all three! Last week I just felt like bringing something and I decided on a tamales, a traditional Mexican dish. If you know me well, you probably know I am NOT a natural cook. Of course I was going to need her guidance on this. As Saturday evening rolled around I was completely unprepared, it was 9:30 pm, my mom was going to be busy all Sunday morning and the Mexican grocery store closed at 10 pm. I was really worried, but my mom was like just go and buy the ingredients, there's still time. So I went and got back in time, that evening I prepared everything so that we just had to cook them in the morning. (There'll be an upcoming blog post that'll feature a short recipe and tutorial on how we make our tamales de picadillo). The point of this story is that my mom was up with me past twelve am to give me a hand even though she had a full schedule the following day. We left the big pot in the fridge that night but come morning it was ready on the stove, all was left was to turn it on. 

Even a week ago, we had a Legacy Galentines and they asked us if we had an example of any kind of love. I mentioned my mom because that whole week before I fell absolutely ill. Two nights back to back, around 3 am she came into my room to give me medicine or even tea. I'm 20 years old and I feel I should be able to take care of myself and make the effort to get out of my bed and take the medicine, but I'm lucky to have a mom that will do that for me. And for whatever reason (or good reason) that has stuck with me. 

I know most of us always say I couldn't imagine a better mom or someone who could replace our mom, but I really do mean it. My mom has been so supportive and looking out for me since day one. In high school, she would drive me back and forth to Life Teen (Catholic high school program) more than once a week even after she had a long day at work. She supported me when with this same program we went on mission trips, retreats, or conferences. Whether it was putting in the effort to pay for it all or just taking time out of her day for it. She put the same effort she did for my spiritual life for my academic life, if not even more. In middle school she encouraged me to stay in after school programs as well as in high school. Even though she again had to make the effort to take me to all these events and meetings that weren't always held at my school. And now that I'm in my third year of college, she continues her never ending support in all that I do. Through Life Teen I was able to travel to Nicaragua and other parts of the U.S., through my high school programs I was able to travel to Argentina twice, and in college this past December I went to Europe. None of this at all would have been possible without her support and the fact that she believes that all the sacrifices she's made are because I am worth it and she wants me to have experiences and live life beautifully make me just feel so loved. Even in all the times that I have done wrong and let her down, she forgives me and never makes me feel like the love she has for me disappears or is lessened. She honestly works so hard for her family and gives her life for us. I've always felt like my mom and I have always had this special bond and at the moment I am having the hardest time keeping in the tears. I think once she said that it is because when she married my dad and moved to the US she didn't work and was a stay at home wife. When I was born more than a year later, she became a stay at home mom and because she didn't have much family here I was like her little companion. She didn't start working till we moved to GA and by that time I was in 3rd grade. It's also the little things that she does for me and my family that make me appreciate her 100x more. Whether it having always fresh flowers on the dining table, having the house pristine, or literally funding my life (LOL), she is the woman I know she knew she has always wanted to be.

I really honestly feel like I have the most incredible mom and I really just feel like our bond and relationship just gets stronger and stronger. Honestly, anything I ever did that was good I did for her and not really myself. I've always just wanted her to be proud of me and for her to see that all she's sacrificed has been for her, and that I am sorry for any pain I have caused her. As I get older of course, whatever success I have now I want it to be for me and for my betterment. But I know with the success that will come, it will still be a reflection of her influence and the all the effort she has and is putting into raising me. 

Te quiero much mami.