I haven't blogged in quite a few days.  My Tia Reme died.  She was my Mom's last living sister.  I didn't take Sarah to the funeral.  Last minute plane trips and packing don't always agree with a 3 yrs old personality.  I think Sarah's presence would have added some comic relief but I decided against it.  She stayed home with Garrett and they did just fine.  It was kinda funny because all my older cousins  kept looking at me as if I were nuts for leaving Sarah and Garrett on their own.  I assured them he was a modern Dad and quite use to taking care of her.  

My Tia Reme was somthing else.  I guess it really starts with Mama Luz.  My grandmother, my mother's mother, the Matriarch of the family.  She was born in Mexico in the 1880's.  She gave birth to 11 children and lost half of them while they were still children.  She survived the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic, and lost another son to it, gave birth to my mother in 1925 on a kitchen table on the southside of Chicago, survived the Great Depression by moving back to Mexico (you know it had to be bad if Mexico was an option to live in)  and eventually resettled in the Chicagoland area with her surviving children.  Mama Luz died before I was born but her legend lives on.  She didn't suffer fools and she was the kind of woman to kick ass and take names later.  One story goes that the Mexican Federales came looking for my Grandfather.  Mama Luz met the Federales at the front door, gun in hand, and by force of will wouldn't let them enter.  They backed off and didn't come back.  I think the word you're looking for is "formidable".  Mama Luz was also known for her animal husbandry skills.  Any cat that crossed her path was quickly captured and spayed or neutered.  Usually without any anesthesia.  (I think Karma's taken a hand with that one because I'm crazy about cats)  Among my brothers and sisters though, Mama Luz is known for something else.  As you can tell she wasn't a real comfy, maternal sort of woman.  My brothers and sisters can attest to that.  My brother Fred is still tortured by the memory of having to eat his cereal after having mistakenly put salt instead of sugar in it.  My sister Chawa remembers that Mama Luz wanted her, my brothers Hector and Tony, on one side of the table when they ate so she could just slap their heads at the same time if they misbehaved.  You know like a pianist slides their hands across the keys.  Hand up, slap, slap, slap! You didn't cross paths with my Grandmother and come away unscathed. 

Tia Reme was the softer side of Mama Luz.  She was as resilient, determined and formidable in her own way but I guess you could say she had more "people skills".  She was very intelligent, had a very sharp and cutting wit and made the absolute best flour tortillas in the world.  She was Old World  and she took her role as wife and mother very seriously.  Her house was always immaculate and my Tio's dinner was always on the table by the time he came home from work.  She wasn't fearful of progress though.  She was in her 50's when she learned how to drive.  She taught herself!  She got tired of waiting around for someone to come home from work so she grabbed the keys and took off.  She made it to the store and back and after that, getting a license was just a formality.  She was vibrant, very strong-willed and she loved having family around.  You did not turn down dinner at my Tia's house.  One, the food was always fantastic and two you didn't want to incur her wrath.  She had a stroke when she was in her 70's but that didn't slow her down much.  I honestly think if an average person had had that stroke it would have killed them.  She had a few more strokes over the years and slowly she'd lose more of her mobility but "Tia" was always there.  She lived for more than 20 years with the disabilties and the key word here is "lived".  Mama Luz and Tia weren't afraid of living and they grabbed life by the horns and took it for all it's worth.  I am thrilled that their blood runs in my veins and I am so glad that I've passed along those genes to Sarah.  I see sparks in Sarah's lifeforce that I can only imagine come from one place.  Thank you Mama Luz and Tia Reme.  You will never be forgotten.