Some Giants Have Small Beginnings.

“If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants” Isaac Newton

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I didn’t get to where I am because of my hard work and dedication. I don’t have a job title because I deserved it more than another person. I am where I am because other people helped me along the way.

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My maternal grandmother did not possess an intimidating stature. Her meager build and frame didn’t give any indication of the strength she wielded with quiet dignity.

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For context she was adopted by her parents. What I know is that her biological parents couldn’t afford to keep her in addition to the other children they already were rearing. (She wasn’t the most recent addition to the family and I can’t imagine the pain it caused them to let a child go who they had already had the honor of spending time with)

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I can’t verify these facts are 100 percent accurate. That’s ok, most history books can’t either but the lore of her story and greatness still resonates with so many of her descendants. Records aren’t always accurate in small rural towns in the mountains of Mexico in the 20th century. What I do know for sure is that she married my grandfather who was part of a large and influential family in her small town.

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At some point my grandfather left to the United States looking to create a better life for himself and his family. This was a different time. I can’t imagine a woman in a small Mexican ranch town had much influence on her husband’s decision making when he announced he was leaving to another country with a different language and different customs. So, she stayed behind with their six children waiting patiently to hear what would come next. She didn’t have the idyllic life with all her children when he left, as you may imagine, in her ranch town with her husband. He first left when their first born was still in utero. While he returned regularly, his business kept him away for many family milestones. Mostly, the arrival of each of their glorious creations. He knew it was his duty to provide and she knew it was her duty to provide love and care. On each of his visits they managed to find time for each other and thankfully, our family was blessed with sons and daughters. These offspring became the branches of my family tree that helped me and so many of my cousins climb to greatness. Of course, these gifts took about 40 weeks to come to fruition. ?(Side note Lorena “Noonie” would come later and be the only member of the clan to bless these states with their first Terrazas citizen)

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Luis Terrazas would soon come calling and sending for his eldest children. He would have them help him until he could afford to bring the entire brood. While they were still young he believed that he could help give them the positive influence they would need.

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Here is the moment I’m most proud of that I got to know, love and, appreciate Amparo Terrazas in my life. She had six children the youngest of which had yet to lay eyes on his father.

Her. Response. Is. Profound.

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NO!!!!!

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She responded with defiance “NO!” No, you will not separate me from my children, you will not separate my children from each other, you will not make demands of a mother who has never had control of her life until now! This diminutive woman raised her fist like in what must have felt like a revolutionary moment where the adopted child of parents who gave her all the love, they could stand up to the man who must have surely had the backing of the entire town where she resided. She took this moment and continued it on into a lifetime of power and strength. She raised her children and later some grandchildren. She found “spare time” to fight for the water rights of her home town in the 1970’s and 80’s. She lived well and loved her family deeply. She found time to send me and my cousins to the local general store in La Purisima with money to bring her back her cigarettes with enough change to buy some firecrackers to keep her mischievous grandsons entertained and still responsible enough to respect their elders. ?

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Her strength echoes into the lives of her 7 children, her dozens of grandchildren, and now great grandchildren.

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So, when you think my work came from my hard work and determination, know I appreciate your compliment. Know I appreciate your recognition. However, I know that my grandmother, my mother, and their gift of my unearned confidence is because they have paved a path so great I didn’t have the option not to succeed.

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I pen this letter and share it with anyone who is looking for inspiration. Feliz día de las Madres and Feliz Cumplea?os in anticipation of Mexican Mother’s Day and more importantly the birthday of Amparo Rivera Terrazas.

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Indita Mia