May 6, 2015

Amor Eterno

Here we are in the month of the May.  This month signifies so much – bright sunny days, graduations, Memorial Day, Cinco de Mayo, but most importantly, it is the month in which a day is set aside to recognize all mothers.  I LOVE Mother’s Day – not only do my husband and children do a great job of spoiling me, but it gives me the opportunity to spend the day with those who I love most and celebrate the woman who gave birth to me, raised me and molded me into the woman I am today.  What would I do without her?  It also gives me an opportunity to spend time with my mother in law, who raised my husband into the great man that he is.  We should always show this type of love and gratitude to our mothers throughout the year, but this day is extra special. 

This year I will be out of town for Mother’s Day, and I hate the fact that I won’t be in town to celebrate with my mom. I came up with this idea to take her and my mother in law out to brunch to celebrate a week early.  I’m the queen of surprises and last year, my siblings and I surprised my mom with mariachi at our Mother’s Day celebration.  Out of nowhere, here comes a group of mariachi into my sister’s home and my mom stops, covers her face and starts crying.  The moment was perfection and our plan worked – she loved it.  This year, I wanted to surprise her again.
I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day.  The weather was gorgeous, sunny with a cool breeze. We got to the restaurant, placed our order and grabbed a seat outside on the patio.  Shortly later, the mariachi arrived and began to serenade our table with “Las MaƱanitas” and for a whole hour we danced, laughed, cried, and enjoyed the beauty of family, friends and even strangers. 

 


 
 

At one point, the mariachi sang “Amor Eterno” which is a very popular song that speaks about a loved one who has passed.  I asked my mom to dance and with tears in her eyes, she said “This song reminds me grandma.”  I looked over her shoulder and I see my dad crying as he thinks of his mother who passed away a few years ago. With a hug I console them and I take in their pain. For a brief second I begin to think of that one day when I will no longer have my mom, but that day hasn’t come yet and I thank God for days like this where I can enjoy her and indulge in her presence and her love.  We stopped dancing and sat down to finish hearing this beautiful song.  Strangers were sitting all around us and this one man caught my attention – he was videotaping the mariachi while singing his heart out and tears were rolling down his face.  His hand that was holding his phone was shaking and I couldn’t help but feel touched by his emotion over this song. 





I loved that the people who happened to eat here were able to partake in this beautiful celebration.  We had several ladies join us for a dance and couples – including the owner and his wife got up to dance.  The day was perfect and it will definitely go down as one of the best celebrations I have been able to share with my family.

 


Mom,
 
Thank you mom always being there for me.  I honestly would not be where I am, or be the woman that I am if it wasn’t for you.  Several times I steered off course, but your prayers and support pulled me back on track.  I firmly believe that those prayers and the prayers of grandma have been answered and I am able to reap the blessings now.  I enjoy our talks, your advice, and our trips to Marshall’s and Ross to look for stuff for the house.  I love that every Sunday when I get there at 8:30 to start serving, you are there too, drinking your coffee waiting to go downstairs to help with the kids.  That makes me really proud.    For everything you’ve done and continue to do for me, I just want to say Thank You.  Being a mother isn’t easy, I know that now.  But because of the magnitude of the difficulty, I now know the true meaning of all the sacrifices you made for me.  Thank you, thank you and may God continue to fill your heart with love, protect you from harm and grant you health for all the days of your life.