I don’t know what you call your mom, but I call mine, Mama. My Mama lives 3,000 miles away from me. It has been this way for over 30 years. Getting used to having her so far away was very hard! ¡Horrible! But, we have managed. For years, when I was in college, we wrote letters or we had a standing phone call once a week. ¡Ay, I am dating myself now, but what the heck, no importa, that is what a seasoned mom is, a mom that has been around the block a few times over! At 84, my Mama is very seasoned. ¡Muy sabia! She has been through many experiences and many decades of new inventions, new discoveries, and new ways of doing things. Especially the new technology that began with a television set, and a hook –to-the-wall telephone to typewriters, tape recorders and CD players, to computers, cell phones, iPhones, and iPads, among others. Who would have thought! ¡Increíble! She is not prone to like changes, but like most people in her generation, she has adjusted.
My mom and I can now face-chat, or Skype and enjoy seeing each other while we talk. We can even cook “together.” She in her kitchen back in Puerto Rico and me in my kitchen in California. But the hardest part is not being able to really be with her every day and enjoy her company, especially as she gets older. I can’t tell you what it is like to wake up in the morning to a phone call from Mama. Yes, ¡se le olvida la hora! She forgets the time difference and there have been calls at 5:00 am, PST! Mama always feels bad and apologizes but I hang up feeling grateful she is still around to call! Because I know that when she is not there, I will miss those early phone calls…
Mama and I have many loves in common. Our husbands, our children, her grandchildren and yes, tennis! It is my sport of choice and I play for fun at least 3 times a week. She never really played it but loves to watch the pros play on TV in the different grand slam tournaments around the world. When those tournaments are happening, we sometimes talk two or three times a day! ¡Hay que hacerlo! We go over who is playing together, who will win or who won, todo eso. It is so much fun because sometimes we don’t favor the same people and that makes for “heated” phone conversations. ¡Ha!
In my family, my mom is the original seasoned mama. As I mentioned earlier, she has been around the block quite a few times. My Mama has taught me to love unconditionally, to be patient and compassionate, and to never forget mis raíces, my roots! My spiritual life has also been affected by her example. “Si Dios Quiere,” (God Willing or Divine Order), she always says. ¡Tan cierto! And how often do we need love, patience, compassion and spiritual guidance in our motherhood journey? And, if it’s not by our example, how would our children learn to love their heritage?
As I start this new chapter of my life, as a blogger, sharing my experiences as a seasoned mom in this space, I am grateful I get to have my Mama around to encourage me and remind me that what I have to say can help parents raising bilingual and bicultural children and how children are impacted by growing up with more than one culture and more than one language at home.
Bai-Bai,
Maritere
