When I started preschool, my aunt said as soon as she walked into the classroom to pick me up, the teacher said “you must be ‘my Gina’ because she cried for you all day.” And it’s been that way ever since. The “my Gina” part, not the crying, although one could argue that too.
Today is her birthday and I am screaming a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY at the top of my lungs. There are not enough words to tell her how much I love and appreciate all that she has done for me. For my siblings and for my family.
All that I am is because of her and I am so grateful that she taught me what it means to be a woman. A strong woman, at that. It wasn’t always easy raising five disrespectful and sometimes ungrateful kids, but she did it gracefully. And not to toot my own horn, she did a damn good job at it.
She is the one who sacrificed her youth teaching us how to spell our names, tie our shoes, and what it means to be siblings and a family.
She is the reason I value life, love and happiness because I watched her go though some rough patches, but she still managed to push through it all.
And she is the reason I push so hard to make my dreams come true because growing up, she taught me and my siblings that “can’t” shouldn’t be in our vocabulary. She taught us to believe in ourselves because based on our story, not many people did.
I will be forever grateful for all the love and wisdom she shared with us through out these years and I am beyond happy to know and be loved by her.
