Gracias Mamá: To every Latina who lives far away from their mamás and abuelas

I've lived far away from mi mamá, mi abuela (I call her mami), and my family for nearly 27 years now! We came to the U.S. when I was young because of my dad's work. I stayed behind with my abuelos while attending college. My whole family went back to Chile, I met my gringo and stayed behind. My sister Valeria married a South African and moved there. My sister Carolina, the youngest, went back to Chile after falling in love with a local but now he is being relocated for work to Miami!

Until recently I didn't fully understand the pain that mamá has endured having her three daughters living so far away from her! Now that my daughter Carolina is preparing away for college (although just 3 hours away) do __I truly understand how difficult it's been for my mom.
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Read more ¿Qué más?: Gracias Mamá: 6 Reasons I'm thankful you're my mom

I feel so lucky to be able to visit my family every year. I often think of so many Latinas who don't get to see their mamás for years at a time or can't be there even when they've passed on!

I often tell mi mamá and mami (both named Lucía like me) that even though they are not physically with me, they are always present in my life and the life of my kids–through a collection of incredible memories, stories that I often tell my kids about my happy childhood, the guiding principles that they've instilled in me and that I've passed on to my kids, the consejos that they've given me when I've needed then most, the little voice that lives inside me that tells mi what mamá and mami would say and do if they were here with me. And gracias for the critical moments that you've left everyone behind to be with me – for the birth of my first child and for Michael's devastating "profound deafness" diagnosis, the hardest moments in my life as a mama.

Gracias mamá y mami for having one of the closest relationships a mama, abuela and daughter could have even though we are miles apart. Our relationship is closer than any of my friends who have their mamás and abuelas close to them (in physical proximity)!

No matter how painful the distance between us can be, let's NOT focus on that nor the amount of days that we are lucky to spend together but rather let the special days that we have spent together, your valuable advice, your love and intense memories fuel the rest of our lives that we might not be together. And if that's not enough, think about how painful our lives would be if we weren't there at all! ¡Las adoro Mamá and Mami!

Image via Lucia Ballas-Traynor