The story of good night, a special meal, their hands, their hair ... There are moments, sensations, teachings and things that our mothers did when we were little that were marked with fire. If we closed our eyes for a moment it seems that we were in that place, thirty or forty years ago.
Today we celebrate Mother's Day in Spain, that's why we wanted to give up a special tribute to moms through the testimonies of their sons and daughters, and adults, and the memories they have of them when they were little.
"He taught me to do everything myself"
Santi Araújo, 35 years old:
"I remember my mother as she is: a strong and struggling person. My parents divorced when I was very young, so I grew up with her. At that time women's rights were not as in the spotlight as (fortunately) today, but I had the opportunity to learn from a young age that women are equal (or perhaps more) powerful than men.
He taught me how to do everything myself and that one can get ahead even if the situations are difficult. There were times when I felt alone, obviously, but I always knew that she was watching me with the corner of my eye from the rearview mirror. "
Santi is not a father yet, but the day he has children, he wants to convey something that his mother has taught him.
"Do not do to others what you would not like to be done to you. His honesty and the ability to always be there for people who deserve it"
"I had enough time to know her more or less well"
Juan Garro, 25 years old:
"She died almost six years ago, but I will always remember her as someone with a lot of character but also a lot of love: able to cast icy glances when we were crowded at Mass (she was very devout) and at the same time throw you the most affectionate look in the world when I saw you a little depressed I will also always remember a pink freckle that had on top of the upper lip And also spending hours She in the kitchen loved cooking, and the way she chewed food, something that also deprived her.
Luckily I think I had enough time to know her more or less well before she died. "
What teaching would you like to convey to your children the day you have them?
"Without a doubt I would try to convey an education similar to the one I received, knowing how to be and behaving appropriately depending on the situation. It is not the same being with friends, with an adult or with your grandmother. There is a time and a moment for everything. I think that is one of the things that I am most grateful to have learned from her, but also from my father, but she always gave great importance to be polite and know how to treat people. And I wish I could pass it on to my children too, I hope to get it. "
"The strict and protective memory"
Cristina, 35 years old:
"I remember my mother always strict and protective. In my case, my mother was the one who set the limits and who we had to go to ask for permission. My father has always been more permissive.
With protective, I mean that I always tried to avoid hurting ourselves for falls, although it was also always there to heal our wounds. It is one of the people who gave everything for us and still does. If we need something and ask for it, try our best to help.
Looking back, the fact that it was like that with me, has made me turn more carefully with things. Otherwise, perhaps now it would not be as I am or would be where I am.
From her what I have learned is that family, along with health, is the most important, and that with older people you have to be respectful. These are things that I would like to convey to my children if I ever have them. "
"He taught me that you can get everything you set your mind to"
Irene Sierra, 27:
"If something I remember from my childhood is the illusion with which my mother lived motherhood. Not only did he strive to convey good values, but to instill an interest in culture and art from a very young age. Not to mention that almost all the plans that I remember in my childhood were with her: On Tuesdays after leaving English class we were going to buy a croissant to have a snack together, on Wednesdays we went down to the center stepping on only the tiles of one color (so that I was entertained), on Sundays we watched disney movies while painting pint books and color
Now that I am an adult and I see the work that the children give, I realize that my mother never let me watch TV longer than she should just because she had more time for her. If she was ironing I was in the same room building a car for the barbie with boxes of ibuprofen while listening to a storyteller. From a very young age I was instilled in a sense of responsibility which led me to be very disciplined and although at that time I was annoyed just having 30 minutes of drawings during the week, today I appreciate that I limited it because that made me develop a creative side that might otherwise have been stunted.
What I would like to convey from her is her strength and fighting ability. With his own experience of getting two children practically alone, he taught me that you can get everything you want. Probably if she had not pulled us as she did, I would never have considered going outside to study without having financial support, but the fact that seeing that you can get out of complicated economic circumstances gave me strength to save money and go to study at Madrid. He somehow taught me that you may be what you intend to be and not what your social context says. "
"I always remember her laughing"
Sara, 28 years old:
"It may seem very superficial, but I've always seen my mother very pretty. In fact, I wrote him a poem with 5 years - which is not worth recovering because it gives a little shame - about its beauty. Then, as I grew older, I began to realize other things. For example, I always remember her laughing and there are scenes from movies that only make me laugh because I remember her attack of laughter watching her. Above all that, What I remember most about her is her inexhaustible love.
Of everything my mother has taught me, I would like to convey to my children the same sense of security that I have always had at home. Like every teenager, I kept my problems and did things that my parents didn't know, but never because I was afraid to tell them. "
"She drove alone with five children, two cabbages and very different ages"
María Llanos, 46 years old:
"I remember my mother tired and working all the time, there were five of us and the poor didn't stop. He was and is beautiful, and had very long hair, and I remember that I loved her hair and that I cried a lot when she cut it. He went to the hairdresser and returned with medium hair and I remember not wanting to talk to anyone and cry all afternoon.
My father was the strict one and she was the one who intervened to take away the punishments and forgive us. My father was also a pilot and traveled a lot and she was alone with five children, two cabbages and very different ages. I am the oldest and I remember her pregnant a lot. I also remember that summer was coming and we were getting in the car every day and taking us to a club we had to spend the day in the pool (the five of us at home were supposed to be hell), at that time it was rare to see something like that. The rest of the families went only on weekends and if they went on weekdays it was with the father. I remember that the poor had to organize and shout a lot because we were too many and we were always fighting. I cooked and cooked wonderfully and I loved their dishes. I also remember that he had and has such beautiful hands ...
What teachings of her do you transmit to your daughters?
She is a calm woman, with a serene life, without many luxuries, who is happy with small things. She doesn't even put on makeup, nor is she a weekly hairdresser, she is not artificial, she assumes her age ... and although she fixes herself, she doesn't like to get attention. "
"My mother always made each home a cozy, warm and beautiful home"
Silvia, 38 years:
"My mother left everything to devote herself body and soul to the family. He left his job, left his city, his family and his friends, and did not hesitate for a moment to accompany my father who, for work, had to travel from one place to another. "
"But despite having lived in a lot of different places throughout my childhood, my mother always made each home a cozy, warm and beautiful home, even if we only lived there for a few months."
"I remember it very carefully (it still is): painting pictures to decorate that empty wall, fixing the curtains over and over again to adapt it to the new windows, embroidering tablecloths ... Besides, I cooked in vice, and when I first brought a little friend to eat at home, the next day the whole class wanted to come also because my friend had told them how extraordinary she was. "
"Another thing I remember with love is the birthdays I was preparing. We didn't need parks of balls, face painting or inflatable castles as there are now. A week before he was responsible for making colored garlands to decorate everything and invented a lot of fun games to do with the guests. My birthday was always the most popular, thanks to her! "
"From her I have learned the importance of small things and how you can be immensely happy with very little, because what is really important is the people around you."
"I don't remember seeing her stop for a moment"
Juan Caravantes, 45 years old:
"I saw her, and I see her, as a very strong person, carrying a house with seven children, a husband, and pulling grandparents and her brother, who lived on the ground floor.
I don't remember seeing her stop for a moment. I was doing something at all times: sewing, ironing, cooking or curing the knees of any of us. Besides, it made you wash your hands and ears, and I checked them. When they weren't as clean as she wanted, I wet a tip of the towel and put it in your ear, like a screw, until it was shiny. And you had to leave clean and combed, and if you had a whirlpool, he sucked his fingers and passed them to you until he tamed the whirlpool.
I always had the food ready, the clothes up to date and darned. And now that I'm a father, I don't understand how I did it, with so many people in charge. I also wonder how he handled finances, because my father worked in a factory and his salary was not very high. But she managed to stretch it and take care of everything, because I hardly saw my father.
Nothing was thrown away, everything was reused, and pants, sweaters, shirts, socks, books, pencils, purses were inherited ...
And at night, when we lay down, he began to knit, and sweaters for everyone. I remember with love that it made me unravel the wool to make the balls with which I knitted the sweaters.
Mind you, Grandma Emi is very affectionate now, but I don't remember her when we were little she gave us hugs or kisses. I guess he didn't have time for that. That's why I like it when I get home, he grabs my face and gives me many, or when he hugs his grandchildren and gives them little kisses. "
"If there is something that describes my mother it is her big heart"
Beatriz López, 42 years old:
"Small in stature, but enormous in strength and genius. Like most Asturian mothers, she was a full-fledged matriarch. She woke my sister and me in the morning to go to school with a kiss, she picked us up from school. and he would take us to the park every day to play. And if it rained, he would tell my neighboring friends to come home to play. She was the perfect mom, always watching us! And at the same time, he was in charge of everything related to school and studies, of our extracurriculars, of clothes, house and food ...
But if there is something that describes my mother is her big heart: she took in my father's three nephews, after my uncle died in the mine with only 26 years and my aunt left them at home a year later. And he raised them as if they were of his own blood, with the same affection and devotion, making the house remain equally clean, cooking the favorite dishes of each of us and that we were always impeccable to school.
In addition, he had time to take care of his father and his father-in-law in their long illnesses, at home and in the hospital, to accompany them to the chemo ... I don't know if I had had such strength and courage!
And it remains the same: pampering all his grandchildren and taking care of them with the same dedication and love he gave his five children. It's the best, an example to follow! "
“Prepared all my birthday parties”
Lucy Ortega, 32:
I was fortunate to have two mothers, or at least that's the memory I have of my childhood.
The first is my mother, whom I have always seen as a strong, determined and intelligent woman, who went out to work every day and never stopped fighting for her dreams. Also always beautiful and with a beautiful smile.
Of course, I never missed any school event, always participated in all my activities and also prepared all my birthday parties at home, including decorations and cake. It was the feeling with my friends, who always expressed themselves with it with much emotion.
She was (and still is) to me, a reference of how far we can go as women and showing me, just like my father, that work, effort and kindness are the best way to grow and help others.
And the second, my maternal grandmother. That old woman with white hair, who at the time raised her four children alone, taught me to read, was the one that made me fall in love forever with reading and gave me great lessons about generosity. She took care of my sister and me when my mother had to return to work in the afternoon, and she always loved us with all her heart.
I remember her a lot with her apron in the kitchen, where she prepared the most delicious dishes and desserts in the world. My friends also loved her very much and always greeted her on the days she went to school for us, and even many joked that she was also her grandmother (and she was delighted to have many grandchildren).
I could not talk about Mother's Day without recognizing them both, as both gave me great lessons in life and unconditional love.
"His hands made me feel protected and cared for"
Lola, 43 years old:
Finally, I want to pay my own tribute to my mother, a strong and brave woman who faced adversity, and has taken her two daughters forward with great effort. If there is something I especially remember about her when she was little, it's her hands.
His protective hands that hugged me, healed my wounds and caressed me when I was sad. I remember writing a poem about them; He would be eight or nine years old. His hands made me feel protected and cared for, and they still do.
Now that I am a mother, I try to convey that same feeling to my daughters. That they find in me a shelter and a space of protection where they can come, whatever happens. >>
I hope you liked the testimonials as much as we prepared this article. We have been very excited about the stories and even a tear has fallen.
It is a good exercise to remember our mothers today, whether we have them with us or not, from our adult vision, and recognize everything they did for us. At the same time, it helps us to reflect how we want our children to remember us When they are adults.
Happy Mother's Day!
