memories – Hija de Gloria | Gloria's Daughter

The last week of my mom’s life

March 7, 2021 It’s Saturday and I’ve spent most of the night searching for a trio of mariachis who can come to my mom’s house on very short notice (14 hours to be exact). I have to make this happen. Over the years, I had promised my mom that one day she’d wake up toContinue reading “The last week of my mom’s life”

Part 5: The final February with my mom

February 25, 2021 Today has been surreal. It started with me “kidnapping” my mom from a horrible hospital and rushing her to Mayo Hospital via a medical transport van paid for with my credit card less than 12 hours ago. This feels like the plot in one of those suspense novels my mom used toContinue reading “Part 5: The final February with my mom”

Part 3: The final February with my mom

“You just keep going, mija. Breathe, just breathe, and keep going.” ~ My Mom. WEDNESDAY, FEB. 24, 2021 I wake up exhausted with swollen eyes and half a plan. It’s not really a plan, it’s a goal: Get my mom out of Abrazo Hospital. I spend the day calling the hospital. Case Managers. Supervisors ofContinue reading “Part 3: The final February with my mom”

Part 2: The final February with my mom

“There will come a day when you’ll have to make some really hard decisions. Remember to be strong.” ~ Mom. I was 5 years old when my Tío Manuel was in a car accident. I told my mom once that I remembered the night of the accident, vividly, but that I couldn’t remember anything else.Continue reading “Part 2: The final February with my mom”

Phantom smells trigger real memories

After the flour, salt and baking powder have been mixed together, and you’ve mixed in the manteca, and you’ve added in the water, and the dough has come together as you knead it with your hands, there’s a slight but unmistakable scent. La masa. It was the smell of wet dough that caught my attention.Continue reading “Phantom smells trigger real memories”

Mom’s red Altima

The email from the probate folks looked like just another email on the surface. It was anything but. It was a punch in the gut, informing us that yet another piece of my mom is gone. My mom’s car has been sold. With that, a piece of her identity is gone. It’s as if moreContinue reading “Mom’s red Altima”

Hija de Gloria | Gloria’s Daughter

I wasn’t ready to lose her. I wasn’t ready to exist in this world without her. She didn’t even know. She had no idea that cancer had been consuming her body or for how long. And then everything happened so fast.