Message from Mom
There’s a place for each one of us in history! Our personal and collective stories, put together, defines the history of the period. So let’s pause and gather our memories. Look at our own footsteps; be they light or heavy. Recall the past, our hopes and dreams and see if we let our destiny float away or we caught each moment, each challenge.
Not so long ago, when life was simpler, when my memories of the past are still vivid, when I can dust away old books and letters, air them by the window, pass the hair dryer to remove the must that has accumulated through years and decades. They have been stored in filing cabinets or scattered in what my dad would call “dead files “.
Only ours have, in time, turned into tiny bodegas, and sorted out by an archivist. The more private ones are kept close to my heart. Those I want to work on, I lay on top of the bed right beside me. In truth, they’ve piled up more memories, not of my own, but memories about others.No one passes alone in life, without those precious others. Who would you and I be without others?
Without them there are no stories to tell.
March 11, 2024
It is here where our mom stops, and while we don’t know what else she would have wanted to say, there is a call for us to keep memories alive. It is these memories that can help sorrow turn to joy. In life, there are seasons. Deep wounds can heal. Broken hearts can mend. Self-reproach can lead to acceptance.
To our dear friends and family who have helped us during our period of profound grief, we thank you.
The time you take to read our issues of Green Monitor honors our mom and her memory.
We hope you’ll enjoy this collection of stories by her family.
In the succeeding pages, Stella recounts a memorable Christmas in 1988, when Kathleen, her daughter, was born. Mylene, Mom’s Christmas baby, brings us back to when Mom was interviewed by a TV reporter. Kathleen, the eldest granddaughter and often referred to as the fifth daughter, puts together a video she compiled, chronicling family life as far back as the early 1970s. From yesteryear, we jump to recent times. Danielle and her kids, Caroline, Edward and Daniel, write about touching anecdotes of their Lola Lina, who believed “a good story comes with a softer heart.”
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