Madre Mía

Hi Ma,

I know you think you know what I think of you, and honestly, you don't. Sometimes my honest words come out with the intention of piercing your soul when I haven't furthered my understanding of the depth you contain. Pretty unfair of me to think I can make an impact on you, touch your heart, so to speak, when I haven't made the effort to thoroughly get to know you.

So here I am, bravely sharing with you the beauty and wisdom I gained from you, respectfully, as my perception of you. I apologize in advance to never truly knowing what you are, as an all encompassing experience because what you are about to read is not even half of it, okay?

Confidence, Determination and Strength. I learned all of that from you from conception until about 9 months that I was cooking inside of you. You may not have felt confident, yet your actions spoke louder. You knew the people that were against you dating my father, and that love you experienced with him made you just a bit more confident.

While you missed him, you were determined to imagine days and nights with him by your side. Obviously enamored and looking forward to admiring his aura when spending time with him. Every single time.

Crossing the Mexican border "illegally" onto the States while I was continuing to develop and grow inside your uterus is the definition of Strength, right? Surrounded by countless others making the trip, crouching low, protecting your 7 month belly, holding your breath, sweating, coughing, starving, dehydrating, and still being agile enough to move quick when necessary. No one can disagree with me about the body being absolutely incredible.

Your body is remarkable, Ma. I want to thank you so much for your body. The extensibility and the elasticity of all the muscles in your body account for your flexibility. I want to thank you for shielding your energetic body from all of those people that rode with you for hours and hours on end, not knowing if you would see the sun that day. Or perhaps feeling the moonlight on your beautiful face. I want to thank you for trusting your body to go without any deep and calm breaths paired with full long exhales. You did it. Yes. You did. I want to thank you for being uncomfortable and hot and wondering when you would be able to just stretch your legs a little. Wondering when you would have another delicious and warm meal. Wondering when you would feel refreshed from an ice cold drink.

Because of all the mortals around you, pathogens were definitely at your reach and yet, your body protected you anyway. Whether by coughing or by sneezing, I am so thankful for your body's natural response to show up in defense for you. Going too many hours without eating and drinking water put a toll on us, and your body still showed up!!!! I want to thank you for having sufficient reserves for us. I want to thank each and every cell of yours and its ability to retain what you and I needed.

Ma, your body in particular, just knows how to hang! In any situation, you are ready. Thank you for passing that down to me. The ability to contract and excite your muscles is another thing I am thankful for. It has taught my physical body that it very much has the ability to move freely, within the laws of nature of course. All of this and I have not begun to share any of the lessons you have taught me since being born.

You read me? I have not started on every single thing that you have taught me since you released me onto this world. Are you in disbelief? You shouldn't be.

Please know that I value you. And I notice the interest getting higher.

Please know that I cherish you. And I miss you most days.

Please know that I appreciate you. And I make the most of your essence.

Please know that I admire you. And there is always a lesson for me there.

Please know that I love you with every single fiber of my being. Just as all of yours have done for me before.

Te amo Madre Mía, Querida Mía.