Work Copied: Pride and Prejudice Chapter 10
My mother is the reason I am who I am. (Cliche, I know. I also realize I wouldn’t be without her, but bear with me.)
She grew up on a large farm in Pennsylvania. By age 18, she was teaching at a small Mennonite school. At 20, she moved down to Paraguay, South America to continue her work on behalf of the children there.
People ask me where I got my determination. When I look at Mamita, I realize it is innate, passed down from the most resolute, purposeful woman in my life.
In Paraguay, she taught elementary school in Spanish. Not that big of a deal? Think again. She had only several months of Spanish classes, and the kids she taught spoke the Indian dialect of the country, Guarani. The kids spoke broken Spanish, at best.
She took on the responsibility of teaching these young children the basics of necessary education. Bridging the gap between cultures, she managed to reach the hearts of these children and open their minds to the world of reading and writing.
I used to go through her photo albums, reminiscent of those years. She was the coolest teacher. Once, she built a 3-foot gingerbread house from scratch as a treat for her kids. She saved all the notes she got from each child, and used them to document her touching and beautiful career as a teacher.
Somewhere in there, she met my dad. After they got married, they made the choice to live in Paraguay for several years. She was there as my dad learned Spanish and navigated the culture switch. They built a beautiful life for themselves: a small farm complete with banana trees and a butcher shop.
Then I came along. I couldn’t be prouder to be the one that made her a mother. Yes, I was and I am the guinea pig of her parenting skills. (So far, I think I turned out OK.)
Life’s circumstances brought them back to the United States. But she never stopped giving to people, standing beside her husband, and teaching her kids.
On top of raising us, my mother was influential in many other children’s and young people’s lives. She was a wonderful hostess, and our table was often filled with dozens of people who we accepted as family.
She was the rock behind my father when he made the decision to leave the Mennonite culture. It’s a big choice to abandon a closed culture, but they managed to pull away and re-start our life. It meant being alone, but Daddy and Mommy were always there for us. Through this time, we grew closer than ever.
It was then that we started homeschooling. I cried the first day, because I had no idea how we were going to do it. But once again my mom’s courage got us through. I thought I would miss the social life of the small private school we had attended; she taught me that family is the best society to learn with.
In 2013, we faced the biggest tragedy of our life when my dad suddenly passed away. Looking back, I have no idea how my mom woke up every morning and kept our life together. Alone, she kept our life as normal as possible. Alone, she held us as she watched our hearts tear in pieces because of the loss.
When all she had was faith, she brought us through the tragedy. She gave up her wishes so that we could have a complete life; she moved mountains and fought giants to keep us safe.
Today, she is branching out into network marketing, even though she still manages the housework and raises my siblings. She wakes up early to make sure everyone has a complete breakfast, no matter what early hour they take off for work.
She made it possible for me to follow my dreams, even though it was against all odds. I could not be me without my mother. She modeled what it means to be a wife and a mother. She showed me that with determination and faith, you can thrive no matter what comes your way.
