La Familia
In Latin American culture, family is a core value rooted in one’s identity. Family is not limited to immediate family members, but also expands to extended families as well. One cannot include one without the other, as they are whole and united. There is beauty in the love every person shares with their family, no one is left behind when you have a community supporting you every step of the way.
Whose love could possibly be stronger than the love mothers have for their children? A mother’s love, touch, and kindness is all one really needs to feel safe. Who do we call whenever we have nightmares or feel a deep sense of loss and loneliness in life? The majority of the time it’s our mothers we seek whenever we need comfort or a sense of safety. In Ecuador, Mother’s Day is a highly celebrated holiday to honor and respect their beloved mothers. Without the sacrifices they have made in their lives, their children would not be where they are now. Unfortunately, not every family member has the economic opportunity to celebrate this holiday, but their love and respect for their mother remains forever.
On May 11th, Mother’s Day, I had the opportunity to meet my host mother’s side of the family. Within my own Mexican culture, I was accustomed to the large gatherings held within families, including both immediate and extended family members. Despite my own experiences, nothing was going to prepare me for the moment I was faced with her family. It was collectively decided to reunite at a small restaurant that was an hour and a half drive from where I was staying. Since we had arrived early, we waited in the parking lot for everyone to arrive. Slowly cars started to arrive. Without fail, my host mother would name whose car was whose, indicating they were part of her family. There came a point where a bus parked and she started laughing, saying those were her grandparents with a few of her elderly family members. Ultimately, a total of eight cars and a bus were parked in the restaurant’s parking lot, all pertaining to her family members.
Luckily, we had placed our orders ahead of time, so the only issue was trying to get tables for all 45 of us. Yes, you read correctly, 45!! Three large tables were combined into one table to fit 20 of us, then another table was set for the other 25. As someone who was a waitress not too long before I left for SST, I was genuinely stressed out over the mess and the lack of organization her family had. I used to work in a small restaurant where there were times I was the only waitress working during a shift. I was left alone to serve more than six tables at a time, while handling in person and to go orders, making sure food was sent out, cashing people out, and cleaning up tables afterwards. I simply could not have imagined being our waitress who served our party of 45. Fortunately, there were two waitresses bringing out our food, so two hands are better than one. Unfortunately, people had forgotten what they had ordered or they did not like the presentation of something so it took a long time before everyone was happy and satisfied. After successfully obtaining our long awaited food, we finished our meals and spent some time outside conviviendo entre nosotros, as daughters and sons who hadn’t seen their mothers in a while had the opportunity to converse with each other. Despite the stress, it was a beautiful moment to witness everyone gather as one.
We ended the day with pictures and dances to celebrate and honor the lives of their mothers. Witnessing the love and appreciation they all shared for their mothers reminded me of the love my family shared for one another. It’s unfortunate that this year I could not celebrate my mom on Mother’s Day, but I am happy to know I will always have the love of my new Ecuadorian mother wherever I go. Although I am not related to this family or even someone from this country, I was always treated as their own. Family is family, despite if they are blood or not, and their love will forever be cherished in my heart.