Happy Mother's Day to my Mom! No air conditioning, No name brand clothes or fancy cars, heck, no car at all for the majority of the time......but my Mom made our world work. I didn't even know that we were poor, till a classmate of mine told me that my shoes were "old and worn, and why didn't I have better ones." The moments I experienced growing up have always been part of me and how I see the world and I have my Mom to thank for that. She made sure to instill in my brother and I the value of hard work and the need for progress of each generation.
Our story begins with my Grandmother, Antonia Reyes Gomez. While I never had the chance to meet her, from the stories that I have heard about her, my Mom and I are very much like her. Independent, Focused and Strong Willed.
My mother had her hands full with my brother and I, as we are 1 year and 1 month apart. This photo has a memorable story behind it, as my brother was not ready to let go of his bottle, but was always willing to take mine...as well as pushing me down the back porch stairs. My Mom says I just laughed and thought it was a fun game but I'm sure we made her worry. Sorry Mom, it was Vik's fault!
Thanks to my Mom, we had no idea that we were poor. She always found ways to have free or low cost fun to make our childhood memorable. She once came up with the idea of being a "tourist in our own city" and we spent the day exploring San Antonio. I loved that she was creative, it allowed us to use our imagination and see our world from a different perspective. One of her best catch phrases was "its washable," she let us be children and explore the outdoors....even if it meant mud fights in white pants :o) 
Another great thing my Mom did was let my brother and I be individual people. I was allowed to try:Music: short lived guitar lessons, being part of the church music group, staying after school to practice with the 7th grade tone chimes group- I was only in 5th grade.
Leadership: Elementary school patrols, Watt Watchers (energy conservation), Student Council, National Junior Honor Society
Sports: playing basketball, volleyball, softball and track, joining
Arts/Science: All Science fairs from 1st-5th grade, Art clubs, Ballet Folklorico, Renaissance Fairs
Social: Participated in 6 quinceaneras, Prom Committee
Travel: Went to Washington D.C.
This is just the short list, lol, I don't know how she kept track of us or found the money to let us experience all of these things, but I value the diverse opportunities I had and still use these examples in my everyday life.
My Mom always reminded me that "either you look at the glass as half full or half empty." I'm still using this in my everyday life, I refer to this and pause when I make decisions. Life is not always fair, but it is what you do with your reactions that makes life harder or easier to live. Thanks to my Mom for her perspective on life!
Education. One word would stay with me forever. My Mom would always tell me that no matter what situation I was in, "I was to show my education." Sometimes I did want to follow this rule, but without it I would not be where I am today. My Mom had to put her goals on hold to raise my brother and I, but when the opportunity presented itself to return to school, she took it! She showed by example that she meant what she said, and has been constantly perusing her education since 2000. Here we are at the University of Missouri St. Louis as my Mom graduated with her Bachelor's degree with honors (3.7 GPA)! We are also looking forward to watching her cross the stage in a few short months with her MBA!! WAY TO GO MOM!!!!!
Life comes full circle in this photo, this is My Mom and I on my wedding day. I waited until my 30's to find the man of my dreams, just like my Grandmother before me. To honor my Grandmother and the values she taught my Mom I wore this 7 foot veil that was hand crafted more than 37 years ago by all the women in our family. They all worked hard to place the lace in perfect position and to keep the model from fidgeting...the model was my Mom trying to standing as still as possible.
So thanks to all my Mom's efforts, whether she knew they would end well or not, she did a great job raising 2 children and I will always be thankful!
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