Mami,
Because you will always be mami to me no matter how old I get, gracias. Gracias for being the first face I fell in love with. Gracias for always being you even when I've stubbornly tried to change you.
Thank you for the laughter. Thank you for your idiosyncrecies and misspronunciations. Thank you for always saying "FARK" instead of "FART" even though it drives me crazy and I try to correct you every time. Thank you for saying "greem" when I know you mean "green." Thank you for calling him, her and her, him and confusing everyone around you except me because I know exactly what you mean.
Read more ¿Qué más?: Gracias Mamá: An open letter to the best mother in the world
Thank you for all the things you did wrong because maybe some day when I'm wiser and more forgiving, I will get over it and become a more compassionate person. Gracias for being patient with my forgiveness. I know you are more forgiving than I. Thank you for forgiving me all the things that I've done wrong and not making me wait to be forgiven.
Thank you for all the things you did right. Some of them I still don't understand how you managed to do. Like how you managed to raise me as a single mother when that was still such a stigma and yet I NEVER EVER felt stigmatized. I never missed having a father because I had you. Or how in a world that notices things like race and color and accents and finances and insists on favoring some over others, I NEVER EVER felt ashamed of who I was. Never. How when someone asked if I was "Spanish" because at the time it seemed rude to ask anyone if they were "Mexican" because who would want to be Mexican, I would never hesitate to say, "No, I'm not Spanish. I'm Mexican."
Oh, Mami, thank you for not leaving me even though I was always worried you would. Thank you for not leaving me even when I wanted you to.
Wherever I go, I am always your daughter.
Gracias.
Images via UnknownMami.com
