My Mom

Thelma Vizon carried Ricola cough drops. Sitting in mass when people
are coughing, she was ready to offer them a cough drop. She always had
that desire to help others before herself. She always said they were better
substitute to medicine. You could find them in her pocket jackets and in her
each of bags. She would even stock up on her supply and buy more than she
needs.
She carried her muted red Chanel lipstick. She always had her lipstick
at hand, ready for a photo opt. She wouldn’t use chapstick because she
thought her lipstick would substitute that. She said she could go out of the
house without makeup, but she couldn’t leave with her lipstick. She thought
the muted red would give positivity and light to other’s lives because the
color wasn’t too bright or too dark, it was a nice touch. It was a part of her, a
signature.
She carried her zebra print umbrella. Rain or shine she had her
umbrella close to her. Like a vampire, she was terrified of the sun. Walking
from the house to the car, she would open her umbrella. Like the witch from
Wizard of Oz, she was scared of water and with just a small drizzle, her
umbrella would open. When it wasn’t used for a necessity, she used it to
make people laugh. It was not an
accessory to her, but a necessity.
She carried her pain. Emotional
pain through various hardships and
physical pain from her job. During
work, she was always on her feet
running around trying to help each
of her patients. On her days off she
wouldn’t get a break, she would still
be on her feet. Family members tried
to help her, but she said she has a
system. She said it feels weird taking
a break, she was already used to the
pain. She worked through the pain
and didn’t complain at all.
She carried positivity. Though sadness and struggle came often, she
always looked on the bright side of things. She tried to turn dull moments
into ones with laughter. When she would see someone physically or
emotionally hurting, she would try her best to make them laugh and tell
jokes along the way. She would come home telling stories about making her
patients’ day by making them laugh or at least bringing a smile to their
faces. When met with her coworkers, they would just say there was always a
smile on her face and never a negative thought or phrase left her mouth.
She carried strength. She would try to hide the pain with laughter, but
her daughter would see through that. Sometimes she would break down but
come right back up becoming a rock for the family. That strength came from
inside and outside of her. She has the emotional strength to keep going
despite the hardships in her way, from that she only became stronger. She
had the physical strength especially from working all week and still trying to
work on the weekends.