It goes without saying that Mother's Day, or El Día de las Madres, is a great time to remember everything your Mami has done for you. But I also like to remember that without Abuela, none of that would have been possible. Here are some things Abuela did for me:
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She loved me even though I was far away. When I was growing up, we were in the United States but my Abuela was in Argentina. Except for a two-year stretch when we lived in Argentina, we only saw each other face to face a few times. Still, she always asked to speak to me during phone calls to tell me she loved me. She taught me love is something you give, just because, and that it's not dependent on geography or any other conditions.
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She taught me not to sweat the small stuff. My grandmother survived the Spanish Civil War, migrating to a new country where she knew no one and losing her husband relatively young. She thrived, started her own business, and always had a smile on her face. If civil war didn't get her down, that certainly puts my issues into perspective.
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She showed me that talking things through with friends makes everything better. In Argentina, women (and men sometimes too) sit around a table and pass around a gourd filled with mate leaves, like a kind of shared tea. But it's really an excuse to sit together and chat. My mother and grandmother's many sisters and cousins would sit around my grandmother's table and laugh and talk for hours, passing the mate around. My Abuela always made everyone feel welcome. They all left her house a little happier than they'd come to it.
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She embodied patience. I love the video below because it reminds me just how much moms (and grandmas!) do and how much they put up with. I once used my abuela's clean bakery water to dip a dirty broom so I could "clean" her floor. It set back her workers for hours while they scrubbed out all the machinery I had made dirty. But all she did was thank me for making everything look so pretty. Now that's patience.
So, this Mother's Day, when I'm celebrating my mom, I'll also remember to honor my Abuela too. She made it possible for me to become the woman I am today.
Embedded content: http://youtu.be/VRqvMQ2besE
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