Our Moms

In honor of Mother's Day, here is a small tribute to our Moms -- compiled by me and Mark . . .

Zelia

There are all kinds of great things to say about my Mom. Here are a few. She is a remarkably strong woman but not so strong that she isn't empathetic about others who aren't that strong. She is a great sounding board and even (a bit shockingly to me at first!) encourages business risk taking . . . and is right there with a safety net so you're not scared out of your mind when you leap. She is a pretty fun Vavo and loves to spoil the kids. She is an expert dryer lint filter cleaner and does most of our dishes when she visits (though those are few since she takes us out to eat a bunch while she's here!). Oh, and she's really good at making friends with the servers just about everywhere we go. She got her Master's Degree when most people she knew didn't even consider college at all. She is gutsy and speaks her mind. She sends us "just because" gifts now and then so we can eat out or get some sort of treat. She helped make a very good relationship out of an arranged marriage. She has been tireless in caring for my Dad. She isn't afraid to show tears when she's missing my Dad. She's a great Mom, someone I can talk to pretty much whenever. I know she loves me, even if my brother is the "favorite" child since he's the "perfect son." :P I know she's proud of me, of us, for all we're doing. Not without its bumps, it's interesting and nice to become better friends with your own mom as adults. Thanks, Mom, for all you do. We love you. Happy Mother's Day.


Vivian

My mother is the kind of woman that can raise 6 boys without ever really raising her voice. I vaguely remember her "yelling" once or twice when I was younger, but looking back that was "talking loudly." She is calm and even-keeled. She has a quick wit, carefully selected for the right moment. Like her mother, she has a stifled laugh that she tries to suppress, but sometimes it gets the best of her. She taught me a lot about checking prices and clipping coupons. She would go to three different stores to do grocery shopping just to make sure she got the best deals. She learned a lot about a variety of sports, I suspect mostly so she could relate to her husband and sons, not because football was an incredible interest of hers. She was always there to support me, and I truly mean always there. She rarely missed a game, practice, performance, talk, etc., etc., etc, and if she did it was only because one of the other boys had an event and even Superman can't be in two places at the same time, although there were plenty of times I swear she'd cloned herself because no one could travel from Ribeiro Field to Maria Field and then to Fitzgerald Field before doing it all over again and then be able to talk about how each son did in his at bat. She is thoughtful, especially around the "minor" holidays. The kids love to get her Grandma packages. She lit up when she met her granddaughter and smiled just as widely holding our son. She shares a lot of book suggestions, all of them good. She has accepted my wife as a daughter in the family, which means a lot to both of us. Thank you for all you are and do. We love you. Happy Mother's Day.