My Mom's Decision To Stay In Guatemala
In 1977 my grandmother Maria, migrated to the United States of America from San Sebastian, Guatemala. Although, she was surrounded by family she felt she had no place left for her in Guatemala. Her husband had left her for another woman and money was scarcely low. Days were heavy with disappointment, but she was young, and determined to construct a new, successful, life in the United States, despite leaving behind her children from her failed marriage. My mom was only 3 when my grandmother left Guatemala. At 9 years old, my mom was informed that my grandma would be picking her up to live in the United States. The idea of saying goodbye to her best friends and close family members crushed my mom’s spirit. She wanted to stay in Guatemala forever.
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My grandmother was indeed her biological mother, but she did not raise her, nor did she really know her. The relationship my mother had with my grandmother was closer to what people would have with an estranged relative that you only saw a couple times a year. To make matters worse, my grandmother had also remarried a man who was not very fond of my mother and her little brother Arturo. After coming to America my mother’s style of living completely changed. My grandmother was excessively strict and quick to discipline when angered. This was very different compared to how my mom and uncle were raised in Guatemala. Back home, everyone spoke to them in gentle, loving manner. Soon enough, my grandmother had two more children with her new husband. My mom and her little brother felt like outcasts. Both of their parents had started new families and it was clear that they stood in the way of their parent’s new beginnings. Even though my mother and uncle had no say in the matter they came to live their new, strange, life in the United States as illegal
My grandmother was indeed her biological mother, but she did not raise her, nor did she really know her. The relationship my mother had with my grandmother was closer to what people would have with an estranged relative that you only saw a couple times a year. To make matters worse, my grandmother had also remarried a man who was not very fond of my mother and her little brother Arturo. After coming to America my mother’s style of living completely changed. My grandmother was excessively strict and quick to discipline when angered. This was very different compared to how my mom and uncle were raised in Guatemala. Back home, everyone spoke to them in gentle, loving manner. Soon enough, my grandmother had two more children with her new husband. My mom and her little brother felt like outcasts. Both of their parents had started new families and it was clear that they stood in the way of their parent’s new beginnings. Even though my mother and uncle had no say in the matter they came to live their new, strange, life in the United States as illegal