My Viejita

Supposedly we choose the families we'll be born into

Meant to assist with the specific lessons

For the journey in this lifetime

I chose well

The family of six

All so very different from one another

And led by the strongest woman I've ever known

Born into poverty

Leaving grade school after only a few years

To tend to the crops and animals

Leaving her beloved Mexico with a baby in tow

To find the husband who had left to find work

Not knowing the language, customs, people

In an unfriendly land

She refused to be broken

By the things life presented

Nothing could stop her

Poverty, alcoholism, abuse, and losing a son

may have come close

But with the factory salary

She paid for the home, the Catholic schools, the food

And she loved

And taught her family to appreciate and to love

And she turned 80 yesterday

And I thank God I had the wisdom

To choose well

Happy Birthday Viejita

(Viejita is 'little old lady' - something I call her with the utmost love & respect)

(But anyone else calls her this I would tear their arms out)