41 years ago
41 years ago, a 36 year old woman who had never had a child before was about to enter her 8th month of pregnancy. She had been convinced her whole life she was sterile by the man who married her when she was 16 in a small country town in Puerto Rico and then brought to the states to be beaten and made to work while he stayed at home getting drunk. At some point, a few years prior to 41 years ago, she summoned up the courage to leave her abuser and strike out on her own.
Low on education and a command of the english language, she languished in farming and factory jobs up and down the east coast. Two years earlier she met a nice young man who had struck her fancy and the two of them became inseparate. Little did she know just three years after her son was born this man would leave her or that she would work the rest of her life in crappy factory jobs in an effort to give her son a fighting chance at the American dream. But 41 years ago today, pregnant with her new lover's child, she celebrated her last mother's day as a non-mom.
Less than a week later, on a drive back from visiting family in Massachusetts her water would break and she would give birth to a premature little boy in a small town in the middle of that state; a tiny town where minorities were few and far between. The kind of town, a kid like me should probably have never have been been born in. But there I was, all 3lbs, 4ounces of me.
From that tiny size to the man I became by the tender age of 19, that little woman worked her fingers to the bone. She endured racism, sexism, sexual harassment and abject poverty. She awoke every morning with a sense of purpose. She was determined to give her son a better life than she had. Sometimes her lessons came in the quiet, loving words of a concerned mother, sometimes they came at the end of a broomstick. Ultimately, she raised a young man ready to take on the challenges of adulthood in whatever form they came.
I'll never forget the day I left for the Army. She was scared, a little jealous, not sure what to expect, but proud. Proud her son was standing up to be counted amongst the men and women who would stand up for freedom and liberty. She knew even then I would go on to leave the world she so desperately wanted me to avoid.
I site many people for whatever successes I have had over the years. Teachers, mentors, friends. But none, absolutely none is more important a factor to the man I am today than that little woman, who went against the odds, and told the streets "you will not have him" and then made good on it. All that I am I owe to my beautiful mother Agripinia. She is the light of my soul and I know today, like everyday, she looks down upon me, upon my children, and keeps us safe in her loving embrace.
Had I been born to a wealthy family, to the richest, most powerful of them all, I would not have been so lucky. This I take with me, this makes me who I am.
Happy Mother's day to all the moms who strive and work and push their children to be better, stronger, brighter, more successful. No job is more important than that of a mother. NONE. We must appreciate mothers every day, not just on this special occasion. They are deserving of that and so much more. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!
Low on education and a command of the english language, she languished in farming and factory jobs up and down the east coast. Two years earlier she met a nice young man who had struck her fancy and the two of them became inseparate. Little did she know just three years after her son was born this man would leave her or that she would work the rest of her life in crappy factory jobs in an effort to give her son a fighting chance at the American dream. But 41 years ago today, pregnant with her new lover's child, she celebrated her last mother's day as a non-mom.
Less than a week later, on a drive back from visiting family in Massachusetts her water would break and she would give birth to a premature little boy in a small town in the middle of that state; a tiny town where minorities were few and far between. The kind of town, a kid like me should probably have never have been been born in. But there I was, all 3lbs, 4ounces of me.
From that tiny size to the man I became by the tender age of 19, that little woman worked her fingers to the bone. She endured racism, sexism, sexual harassment and abject poverty. She awoke every morning with a sense of purpose. She was determined to give her son a better life than she had. Sometimes her lessons came in the quiet, loving words of a concerned mother, sometimes they came at the end of a broomstick. Ultimately, she raised a young man ready to take on the challenges of adulthood in whatever form they came.
I'll never forget the day I left for the Army. She was scared, a little jealous, not sure what to expect, but proud. Proud her son was standing up to be counted amongst the men and women who would stand up for freedom and liberty. She knew even then I would go on to leave the world she so desperately wanted me to avoid.
I site many people for whatever successes I have had over the years. Teachers, mentors, friends. But none, absolutely none is more important a factor to the man I am today than that little woman, who went against the odds, and told the streets "you will not have him" and then made good on it. All that I am I owe to my beautiful mother Agripinia. She is the light of my soul and I know today, like everyday, she looks down upon me, upon my children, and keeps us safe in her loving embrace.
Had I been born to a wealthy family, to the richest, most powerful of them all, I would not have been so lucky. This I take with me, this makes me who I am.
Happy Mother's day to all the moms who strive and work and push their children to be better, stronger, brighter, more successful. No job is more important than that of a mother. NONE. We must appreciate mothers every day, not just on this special occasion. They are deserving of that and so much more. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!
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