My Grandma

One reason I like to blog is that I can express my feelings and emotions and feel better afterwards. This blog is a tribute to by grandmother. Her name is Elvia, we call her mamá Elvia. She is a very humble woman. When she was 10 years old she became an orphan and she put herself in charge of her three siblings, even though they were older than her. When she was 12, one of her aunts decided to adopt them and when she was 17 years old she got married. She then had 10 children, 5 of which passed away. One of the most painful tragedies of her life (I only know because my dad told us about it, and he cried when he told us too) was when she saw one of her oldest sons fall from the top of a tall tree and he broke his back. He was in the tree in the first place, because in the ranch they paid the boys to cut fruit down out of the trees. My grandmother picked him up and carried him home, but unfortunately after a couple of months he died from an infection that he got because of his injuries.

Another of her children died when he was 2 years old. He had been in the hospital for two months with bronchitis, and the day that he was going to go home, the nurse dropped him on his head and he didn't survive.

Later, one of her nieces gave her her daughter, because she couldn't take care of her and she left the ranch, but then came back seven years later and took her away. Her house was a refuge for people who had difficult lives. I can't remember how many people lived at her house for some time while they tried to work out their problems.

She loves taking care of animals, she had a farm with over 200 chickens, which was very boring for me, because I had to go around and collect the eggs .. the worst part was that they then told me to go and sell them.

She always gets up very early, like at 6 am, to feed all of the animals that were waiting for her outside the door ... goats, sheep, pigs, turkeys, etc... I remember when I was little and she carried me in her strong arms, and I loved being in her arms until I would fall asleep. Close to her house there was a school, and all of the children as they went by yelled "good bye grandma" even though they weren't her grandchildren. I would always yell out the window "She is not your grandma! She is mine!" Soon I learned not to be jealous, but rather to be proud that so many children loved her so much.

We all knew where she was when she laughed, because she had such a thunderous laugh. Everybody knows that if they want a hug, they should go to my grandma's house. She gives the biggest, strongest hugs. It even felt sometimes like she was going to break your bones.

She loves to cook. She taught me to cook and she is the person that makes sure that everyone gets together to eat. She has suffered a lot throughout her life and has been very poor, but she has never stopped being happy. She is an example for me of a great woman.  And now I only ask God that she gets better soon, because without a doubt, when she is gone, we will miss her a lot. Yesterday, I talked to her on the phone after she had a brain aneurysm she can only move her right hand to show that she is listening. There are many people taking care of her right now, and I wish I could be one of them so I could help too.

I could probably spend the whole day writing things about her, but to summarize it, she is more than just a grandmother to me, she is the most important piece of our family. I love you so much Mamá Elvia.