Adela Baez - A Strong Woman

Adela happens to be my dear mother and I just have to let her know how much I appreciate her giving birth to me and her raising me in the manner that she did.

My mother gave birth to six children by the time she was just 23 years old. She had a baby every 10 months and after the 6th child my father and her split up.  When they split up she would not allow him to come and see us because he was always drunk. I appreciate that about my mother. Even though as I was growing up I did not understand why she would never let him see us, but now as a grown woman and mother of fice children myself, I do understand her need to protect us. I think that she did a marvelous job at raising six children on her own. Though my only brother died a few years ago, she stood by him until the moment that he died.

My mother has been a stupendously strong woman and has taken care of not only her children but other members of the family as well. When my aunt caught a heart attack a few years ago, my mother was the one in the hospital every single day taking care of my aunt. She would make sure that my aunt was well taken care of, which included feeding her and helping her move around in her bed. My mother did this religiously for about 6 months and then my aunt passed away. Then my brother, her only son got really sick and my mother again would go to the hospital and stood by my brothers side every day for about 1 year and a half until he died. My uncle lost his legs due to diabetes and my mother also took care of him for about 2 years until he died.

At this point, my mother is getting older and became a diabetic herself and she has been taking care of my grandmother for 12 years. My grandmother is now in a nursing home and my mother does not miss a day of going to visit my grandmother and she is always willing to help any of us with whatever she can. I really appreciate my mother and everything that she has done for me and everyone in our family. She is a very strong woman.