My Mother

Aida Lujan carried her cheap pair of glasses. As she grew older her vision started to
deteriorate like it does with many people when they start to age. She never bought a pair of
prescription glasses since she always claimed that they were just for reading. She also bought
multiple pairs which were always found to be littered around the house, like many of the other
things she hoarded.
She carried around her wedding ring, which she has never taken off. She has been
married to her husband Paul Tamayo for over 10 years now. Since then she is now known as
Aida Tamayo. Even though this was not the first wedding ring or last name she carried around,
it was the one that would sure last a lifetime. The ring is small, simple, and not very impressive
compared to most. However, that did not matter to her.
She carried around a small black Calvin Klein cross body purse. She had purchased this
purse years ago for a very discounted price, and since then she takes it everywhere. She
always seemed to have everything in that small little bag. You could ask her for anything and
somehow, she always had it in that bag. It was often cluttered with receipts, gum packets, and
spare change, yet there was always plenty of room. It may not have been a very luxurious bag,
but it was hers.
She carried her Mexican accent. Even though she has lived in the United States far
longer then she did in Mexico, her accent never abandoned her. She moved to the U.S. when
she was 21 and now, she is 57. Yet whenever she speaks English, you can obviously tell it was
not her first language. When she first moved to San Diego, she did not speak any English, so
she took English classes at a local community college. To this day, she is very conscious of the
way she speaks English and often has others help her to make sure she spelled something
correctly. It appears she is embarrassed to mess up and does not want to make a fool of
herself.
She carried her mental illnesses. She was diagnosed with depression and anxiety over
10 years ago. This especially hit her around the 4-year period where my grandpa and grandma
had died, my sister getting pregnant at 15, us losing our home due to the 2008 economic
recession, and her being laid off from her job. Mental illness runs on her side of the family, so
her diagnoses did not come as a surprise to her. She is in constant battle with herself and often
lashes out on her own family without meaning to. However, as time passes it seems as though
she has also developed OCD, which has not been officially diagnosed, but her family is certain
she has it.
She carried her stress. She works a full-time, physically demanding job at a grocery
store and comes home everyday having to feed her family and pick up her grandkids from
school, when her oldest daughter cannot. She is often left to take care of her grandkids since
her oldest goes out with her new boyfriend and her friends to party. Her oldest often does not
come back home until the next day. Aida often neglects her youngest child who is still in high
school because she knows that her daughter is capable of doing things on her own.
Days seemed to blur together, as everyone’s actions were always routine. Her oldest
would always be neglectful of her children, her son would always be in his room constantly
working on some new project, and her youngest would always come back home from school at
the same time, eat dinner, and go do homework.
She constantly wondered if things would ever change. She needed a break from all of
this. She always dreamed of travelling and exploring the world. The thought of this dream
always calmed her down, but would this dream ever be fulfilled? Or would she always be stuck
inside her own head and in the same routine?
“No” she said. “I will go to Europe someday.” “Not everyone is meant to visit Europe, but
I know I was meant to go” she repeated.
 *That faithful day came when her youngest came back home from school one day with
news of a Europe tour. Her dream came true last summer where she visited 5 countries:
England, France, Switzerland, Italy, and Greece.