Him & Me (But Mostly Me): Mami's Day!

We all have amazing mom’s and mine is no exception.

She is one of the strongest and most valiant persons I know. When I stop to think about everything that she has gone through in her life I am in complete awe of how she was able to go through all of it and come out the way she has. Simply amazing.

My mom is the third eldest of 8 children and began playing the mommy role when she was very young. Her youngest sister had some medical issues that left her needing close care. Since my grandma had so many kids to take care of my mom took on the responsibility of caring for her baby sister.

That's me inside my momma!

My mami got married when she was 24 years old (my dad was 33, almost 34) and got pregnant soon thereafter. Their wedding date is July 19, 1968 and my sister was born on May 3, 1969. (That’s almost 46 years of marriage!). My brother came not 2 years later on October 24, 1970, and then my other sister (the one who is in the hospital) was born on April 1, 1972.

By the mid ‘70’s she had 3 little ones running around her feet.

As I’ve mentioned previously my sister Gabriela got sick when she was 9 months old and from then until this very minute my mom has not only been a mom but she has been a nurse and doctor. She has also been an organ donor to her daughter – the most selfless thing a mother can possibly do in my opinion.

Awwwww.

My first bath!

I’ve seen many posts over the past few days about mothers and daughters not getting along too well during teenage years but that was not the case for us. Although I wouldn’t have considered my mom my best friend 10-15 years ago, we always got along. We went shopping together often and I accompanied my parents grocery shopping every Sunday until I started working retail and had to work on Sunday mornings.

Nap time with my mommy!

Today, at almost 30, my mom is definitely my best friend. If I could take her everywhere with me I would. I e-mail her constantly (she doesn’t text, but she’s good at e-mailing on her iPad!) and I call her multiple times a day (she would probably prefer I didn’t) and she and I go out shopping at least a couple of times a week(much to both our husbands’ dismay).

She is the person I confide in and the person who will give me the advice I really don’t want to hear. She’ll listen to me and not say anything or simply agree with me because she knows I like to have the last word. I’ve just recently realized how she does this for me and I don’t think she knows how much I appreciate it. Still, she knows when to put me in my place and let me know when I had to just shut up.

On an airplane on the way to Argentina.

She was there for me 100% for my wedding. She went shopping with me for my dress and paid for all of it because she knew how much it meant to me (even though she disagreed with it). She was willing to be a part of the wedding ceremony even though she is very shy and doesn’t like to be the center of attention. She also (along with my dad) are paying for our honeymoon.

(I’m such a nerd, I’m crying just writing this – I love her so much!)

My mom, grandma, and my paternal grandmother's friend from long ago.

La Plata, Argentina - 1994

My mom helped me do the majority of my moving and guides me in becoming a good wife (either by telling me do something she does or by doing something she doesn’t do :).

My mom and I in the apartment my siblings grew up in.

La Plata, Argentina

I hate going shopping without my mom (and I can’t stand to think what I’ll do when she is no longer here with me). We had grown a tradition of going shopping on weekend mornings. On Saturday’s we’d go to the mall with my niece and get some Starbucks (her favorite! Coffee addict!) and just stroll the stores – even if there was nothing for us to buy. On Sunday’s we generally did grocery shopping together.

My mom and I (along with my sister-in-law's and niece) at my Bridal Shower.

Simi Valley, CA - 2014

Mom and me on a shopping trip.

I’m really hoping these weekend traditions will come back in some way (they have been suspended due to my sister being in the hospital). We have been doing errands in the evenings which I love. Shopping is our thing. We also used to take long walks in the evenings around the neighborhood and talked about just about anything. I can’t wait for life to settle down so we can get back to that as well.