My Morning Reflection: Today I woke up thinking about my mother on her birthday. (Were not Facebook friends so she wont see this past [laughs]) My mother gave birth to me on May 9th, she gave birth to a premature baby that weighed one pound, a child that would have to deal with a variety of medical issues. My mother advocated for me to get the best treatment possible, shed make all those trips to the ER when I fell sick, or if I had tripped over my feet and hurt myself badly. She, a single mother of two, working two jobs to make sure we had a roof, food, clothes, and our most basic needs met, would start off her morning with me around 5 a.m. As a toddler my mother would wake me up and have me drink cafe con leche and bread with her. That was our time in the day to bond before she left for work and I went to school. My sister Jenny Lynn Martinez would be asleep-- shes not much of a morning person. ;) Throughout my life, I have always been my mothers twin (do you see the photo, I am practically her man counterpart.) For a long time, I would even be mistaken for her when I would answer the phone. I was my mothers baby, I would even say I was a huge mammas boy. But like everything in life, time shifts, people grow, and sometimes they grow apart. Back in middle school when my mother began to fall ill, the lens for which I viewed my mother began to crack. My naive, younger self viewed my mother as a superhero, she could do the impossible, she would save me from the boogie man of the world, she would lift me up, wipe my tears, and always provide for my sister and I. I didnt view my mother as a woman, as a human first, I viewed her as a mother first so when my lens of her began to crack-- the little boy in me grieved for the mother I knew. But on this day, on her ?? birthday (my mother doesnt care if people know her age but...just in case [laughs]) and as my 23rd birthday quickly approaches, I can say I finally learned to view my mother first and foremost as a human, a woman who had her own struggles, disappointments, hardships, and obstacles in her life. A woman who sacrificed her own dreams and aspirations when life dealt her a different hand to play with. Today I celebrate the woman Ive come to learn about in the past few years, today I celebrate the woman who endured and continues to endure, who managed to survive, who continues to survive, I celebrate my mother, the woman, the unpublished writer in my life, and I thank her for passing on her gift of writing to me-- for giving me the most direction she could. My good friend Jeshawna C Wholley once said, It was through feminist thought that I learned to love my mother again. and I would add that it was through feminist thought and through feminist lens that I learned to view my mother as the woman she had been, the woman she currently is, and embrace the woman she will become. Today and forever, celebrate your mother, the woman, not as the hero you impose on her, but as the woman who endured and survive to give you life.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 12:47:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015