Mi familia moderna – Celebrating Mary’s graduation

It was 1971 and I was living at the ranch ALONE with my father, relishing his company, getting to know and understand him, and working out “my adjustment reaction to adolescence.”  He sat me down one afternoon and gently pointed out that I was 22 years old and it was time for me to make a life of my own.  He agreed to set  me up in an apartment in El Paso, Texas and give me $300.00 a month, enough to pay my extras if I got a decent job.  To this point, my only job had been as assistant and translator to the Dean of the school of communications at the ITESO in Guadalajara,  It had been an expremely demanding, multi-faceted job and I felt confident that I could tackle anything but I didn’t really want to leave the ranch.

I went to work at a finance company owned by some very nice people and learned all about credit and finance charges but I was not fulfilled and my mother suggested I contact the widower of our beloved hairdresser Helen who had passed away.  He worked for the State as a probation officer and might have some ideas for a job. One afternoon, Adolfo Sanchez,  a dashing young Omar-Sharif type came into the finance company, filling the room with his presence and tremendous personality and we agreed to meet for a drink. It seemed he was looking for a secretary.  I was awestruck.   We decided to date instead and got married a few years later.  One year later I gave birth to twin sons Rodrigo and Aaron.  He had three children Henry, Spanky and Marissa.

The marriage did not work out but the family born of the relationship has flourished. I moved to New York in 1983 when my boys were 7 years old and a few years later Marissa whom I’d known since she was 3 years old joined us.  Adolfo passed away not long after but I kept the family together.  What a blessing that has turned out to be.  Marissa is now married to Emanuel Bastien who has two children, Catya and Shane, my stepstepgrandchildren, and Spanky married bonnie Mary, and they have two beautiful daughters Alexis and Elizabeth and Rodrigo and Victoria gave birth to my first blood grandchild. (If you’re interested, I’m writing a book and you can get the whole story!)

But this story is about Mary, salt-of-the-earth, almost saintly but fun, sweet, sweet Mary who followed her dream, volunteering at school, and working late into the night as a bartender to help out her hardworking adorable husband Spanky who also does double duty to live the life they want their girls to have.  All the while, a few hours at a time,  Mary has been going to college to fulfill her dream of being a kindergarden teacher.  It took her years to graduate and we are celebrating her today. So, Mary here’s to you and as Jamie would say “Thank you for the daily gift of yourself.”