my mom is the coolest person I know

May 10th is Mother’s Day in Mexico. I wrote this for my mom:

My mom has been a nurse for longer than I have been alive. When we were little, she worked the night shift so she could stay home with us during the day. One of my favorite things to do was watch her get ready for work. To me, my mom has always been the epitome of elegance. She could pull off bright lipstick like nobody’s business, she never left the house if she wasn’t wearing perfume and earrings, and she even made shoulder pads look cool.She hasn’t had an easy life, but you would never be able to tell. She makes everything around her beautiful and uplifts everyone around her. I always feel like I can take on the world after I get off the phone with her. What she does for a living is who she is- she’s a healer. When I’m sick, I still long to hear her come into my room and put her hand to my forehead to check for a fever.

She loved her job, and she always wanted us to work doing something we loved. When I decided to change my major halfway through college, she encouraged me, reminding me that writing had always been what I loved to do. She taught me that as long as I worked hard and had a good attitude, I could have and be anything I wanted.