Honor to My Mother (Carlos' Audio Story)

I WANT TO HONOR MY MOTHER

WHY? Because since my father died she took care of us by herself. My mother sacrificed for us always and still looks for the best for all of us because she loves us so much.

She did everything that needed to be done for us starting by supported and accepted my father death.

She went crazy and couldn’t believe it when I was two years old. I do not remember him but I enjoy it when my mother tells me stories about him. That he was her life. She was about to die too but she never did. Because she thought about us and in God before she wanted to do something wrong. She is very smart and intelligent to do this kind of things. I love my mother now more than ever…

After my father’s funeral, my mother had to work in my father’s job which was just for men no for women. Because my father’s boss  was a friend to our family so he made an exception.

She was the only one woman working in this job. She was the supervisor of a big city company that specialized in keeping the streets and parks of Guayaquil clean, like Trash collectors. My mother needed to go to school at the age of 40 because my grandparents never sent her to school. Once my grandfather died, my grand-mom sent my mother to live with her relatives. They had my mother work as a housekeeper instead of sending her to school. In order to get this job at least she had to know how to read and write and she did not know how to read and write so she went to school for Adult Literacy and finished her education. And finally she got the job.... Well at the very end  After eight years working in this place each and every one of the workers or employees including my mother,  got fired. like animals they got fired for no reason.

And then she was so desperate.

Could you imagine a woman with 7 children, feeding them, educating them and doing whatever else we needed to be happy?

One day she was walking and trying to buy some food for us, at the big market in the city.

There she found this fine young man, This person was her distant cousin from my grandfather’s side of the family.

So he asked to my mother, “What happened to you cousin?”

And she told him everything that had happened. This person was and still in a good economic situation.  He had -- or I don’t know if he still has -- a big food market. He owns a whole building where he has or had his business, right in the middle of the city. They used to be very good friends when they were youngers. besides that they are family relatives. So he helped her by giving to my mother everything in order to open a grocery store or bodega again. when I say again is. Because that’s what my mother used to do before my father passed away she used to work at the grocery store and my father worked for the city.

Once she opened again her grocery store or bodega in the south side of the City. where we used to live at. where all the poor people used to live at and we had everything that we needed in terms of food, education, toys, and a lot of love from both of them. But one day it changed everything, it was a different story. it was not the same at all.

Before and after my father died my grandmother used to take care all of us, my cousin also helped us by cooking and doing the laundry while my mom was working and we used to go to school one of my brother had and needed to work and help my mom but he never dropped the school, because the money that my mom used to make was not enough for everybody, i remember. when my mother bought a nice pair of shoes and a shirt for only one of my brothers and we used to said mama what about for me ? and also she used to buy some toys just for two of my brothers we used to tell her mama what about the rest of us ?

But without knowing that she did not have enough money to buy clothes and toys for her children, not even enough food, what she did was very smart,  we used to keep and collect the clothes from my brothers and as soon as  we  grow up we will wear their clothes, same thing with my sisters,  now about the toys we used to make our own toys by using our imagination and talents that our teacher from our. Same school, taught us using glue,  woods and papers. Because we used to receive toys,  in Christmas eve. New Year eve and holidays only and also when our God fathers used to show up.....  the ones that used to always helped us were my older cousins from my mothers side family, Ok.

One day my mother won the lottery wow that was  excellent because she used to buy it every weekends, she used the money to made our house a little bit more bigger than it was. and still was not enough for all of us and then we started rented half of the house to helped us to pay the rent and all the bills that were needed to be paid, such as transportations, education, electricity and gas uff and a lot of more that i can not finished to described. let me tell you something guys compare to other families.

i remember one day i was on the roof lying down and i looked up to the stars and i cried and i told to my self one day we will have a better life. Because  the night i wanted to eat more food and my mother told me mijo, son is done there is no more food left and that was . Tuna, my favorite seafood.

I remember that  my mother was a very strict woman because she never let us to go outside without finishing  our homework first.

I had to give my lessons to my mother even though it was really late and we wanted to go to sleep. sometimes when my mother used to go out to visit my uncles or sometimes she stayed working over time,  we had an opportunity to go out without  permission from her. she is very smart she used to come very slowly without saying anything to nobody and she knew where we were.

Because she asked one of our neighbors that lives in front of our house, and she used to come  with a belt underneath her blouse, so we can not see it. I never knew that she had a belt hidden inside her blouse around her stomach, and then she punished me and everybody else for not listened to her.

Well that was long time ago after all my mother loves us so much she just wants us to obey her in  everything that she told us to do.  Otherwise we would become criminals, thief, drug addicts etc.

Well then. Now let me tell you when my mother was traveling to USA. from Ecuador.

My Cousin lives in Chicago, he offered to helps my  mother to come to USA and in the middle of the way he refused to helps her so my mother was supposedly to come to Chicago instead of  NY, she was stock in Texas for a little while,  she was so desperate, she did not know what to do, She called my uncle that lives in New York.

Because when my cousin and most of all our family used to live with us. So this person Is my aunt husband. He helped my mother to come to NY He borrowed some money to my mother also the money that my mother borrowed in. Ecuador, now she needs to work to pay everything that she owns.

Now she is here in New York she needed to find a job. sooner than later, right away, She easily found a job in a. Korean Factory as a cleaner. She used to clean tuxedos, dressers, and much more stuff. She used to make a little bit of money and  She wanted to work more hours so she could make a little bit of more money. So she learned how to use the machines even though was older she learned faster from her friends, She started to collect some money a little by little and then she brought all of us two by two, she suffered a lot.

I remember when she used to call us by phone and started crying every time she hear our voices. We  were very sad also. I did miss my mother a lot,  but at the same time I felt good, I don't know why But I was 10 years old, I think so because I could go out and have fun with my friends, but when I used to come back home I missed my mom.

Well, when I was 11 years old I went to H.S, I felt this first year of school because to be honest with you guys my family put me really late at this school, The students were advanced with the classes and exams, and my siblings also were not in a good way to teach me or to guide me in the school so I felt, and in the next year.

My mother gave an authorization to one of my old cousin, now he is resting in peace because he passed away many years ago, He was an awesome person he put me at this school and I never felt any other year anymore, I graduated in Industrial Mechanic, specialized in, Welding and Lathe,  or windlass.

I was the last one that my mother brought to New York. I didn't suffer like my mother and my sibling did.

I took this like a long trip like I was on vacation I came inside of a fishing Vessel, so I was inside where they keep the fishes but the week they didn't transport them, we were inside of it. I have never traveled in a fishing vessel before, this dream came true, I was throwing out for two days, so after the third day I was ok. I used to eat whatever I wanted to, watermelons, pineapples a lot soup and rice, compare to my friends.

They  were very sick inside the boat, there were no doctors around only our, Captain and three workers. They helped us a lot, They were in charged of cooking and prepared everything.

We last for about 7 days in the middle of the. Ocean Pacific, I saw Dolphins, Big whales and a big    tornado in the middle of the Ocean, that scared me a lot, because I have never seen one like that. When I arrived in Guatemala I got stuck over there for almost two months I was in a bordered between, Guatemala and Mexico, which is call. Tecun Uman. I did everything just to come to New York. It was a long big adventure For me.

Finally after almost two months living in Guatemala the coyote gave us some instructions to cross the bordered from. Guatemala to Mexico. I started to walked for many hours none stop. finally i passed.

Traveling between the cities was more easy than the borders.

I flew for more than three times by airplanes, from Mexico Df to Guadalajara and Mexicali and L.A to New York.

Now my mother is living with me and all my family are togethers. We are not a perfect family but. We still together even though my father died many years ago Just my grandmother still and. Ecuador. With my cousins from my mothers sides. We are taking care of my grand mother. All of us are working to succeed in this. World. God. Bless you. All.