Depending on how exposed you have been to Mexican culture, you may know (or not) what November 1st & 2nd mean for Mexico. I love my home country and it’s culture, everything about it; Day of the Dead is definitely in my top-three holidays (just after Christmas and Thanksgiving!). There’s so much tradition around it and while I haven’t had the chance to experience it at its raw form by traveling to a pueblito for the celebrations; I appreciate the fact that there’s a day when a lot of Mexican families remember and honor those they have lost.
Last night my dad’s extended family got together in the now usual Sunday Zoom call and we got to remember and honor my abuelita Rebe, our most recent, unexpected and still hurtful loss. We talked about her life and the attributes we recall about her, shown through the multiple roles she played in her life: wife, mother, grandmother and others.
As the question was presented: ‘What do you know about her as a “insert role”?’ and ‘What does that teaches you?’ I couldn’t help to stop and ponder about how she influenced and impacted my life. So, this post is an effort to defy my limited human memory and an ‘I-refuse-to-forget’ try.
She was passionate and some times obsessed about small and big things of life. She was a cooking enthusiast and had a natural talent for it. Cooking for her was one of the ways she showed love to her family. She was a BIG fan of our home-town soccer team, she followed the matches, yielded to the screen as if players could hear her and tracked the results. She was a cleaning hound and she could be a little bit stubborn about her methods. She was a strong person with strong opinions and didn’t hesitate to express them.
She was an energetic woman, even as she got older. She had the ability of squeezing 36-hours out of each day or at least that’s how it seem to, from all the list things she managed to do in a single day. Some could describe her as intense, but I prefer to say she was intentional. She had (at least in my perception) a small circle of friends, but her relationships were meaningful. She cared about her appearance, had a good taste in clothing and valued quality over quantity.
She had an extraordinary sense of wonder. In that way she never stopped being a little girl. She loved eating and had the capacity to enjoy a street taco dinner, a fast food meal while traveling or fine dinner sit-down with the same excitement. She enjoyed life for what it was, an experience. She smiled and laughed (a lot) and she was contagious about it. She was an excellent administrator, keeping a thorough track of incomes and expenses and she was terrific at saving. She had an over-my-head capacity to forgive and she was merciful, specially to my grandfather.
For me, she just was a strong woman and a kind human being
I see traits of her in me that define myself, both good and not-so-good that I’m trying to polish for better. More importantly I see traits that I’d like to emulate and integrate in myself. Of one thing I’m sure, whether she knew it or not, she was a big influence in the life of many that got to know her and had the privilege of calling her family!
Unapologetic Thoughts 