Today, my grandmother (welita) Guille would have been celebrating her 89th B´day. She was like a second mother to me. When my mom was working, we (my brother and I) would spend a lot of time with grandma. She was a very elegant woman that build up her life, and created for herself a very classy lady´s reputation.


She would tell me stories of how she and my grandpa fell in love, and how it was "love at first sight". Their love was so passionate that after my grandpa's passing, she never stopped loving him nor talking about him. My grandmother was a painter, and gave painting classes to many kids throughout her life. One of my favorite things was whenever she had a painting exposition and she would take us, no matter how young we were, and taught us how to appreciate art. Even better when she was having her own painting exposition and I could see all of the impressions she would create in people interested in her art.
When we would be in her house, we (my brother and I) would always be doing something artistic, and I think that built a lot of what both my brother and I do and enjoy in life.

She loved opera music. Her older brother was an opera singer, so she was very appreciative of this type of music. She would also like other modern artists like Luis Miguel, Ricky Martin, and Laureano Brizuela. I remember that when she had the piano at her house, we would play it all the time. She saw my potential and she ended up giving it to us. That gave me the opportunity to learn how to play the piano at age 4, and developed an early love for playing musical instruments. That´s why whenever I had a new instrument I would play it for her. I think her favorite was whenever I would play the cello for her. I loved that she could see the potential in any of her grandkids and encourage you to pursue your dreams, or talents.  I remember she would encourage both my brother and me to try our best and draw a lot. She would say: "Practice makes Masters!" I know she was always very proud of my accomplishments either as a musician, or as an illustrator, but most importantly for who I turned out to be as a young lady. I got a lot of my collecting habits from her. She gave me my first quartz crystal and from there she created a monster, lol. I started collecting crystals from that point on. Something I remember dearly was her great sense of style. From interesting wigs, to fancy hats, my grandma wasn´t afraid to show off her style. So I was always the happiest when she would get rid of some of her clothes and pass them on to me. We shared too much quality time together. I remember so dearly watching all of Shirley Temple´s movies with her, and that her favorite movie to watch with me was "The Wizard of OZ". But she was modern too. She would watch MTV with me, back when you could still watch music videos.

Sometimes when I would get to her house, she would be making flour tortillas. Mmmm, they were so delicious that half of her makings didn´t made it passed the kitchen. During Christmas, I would help her with the decorations, even if I always kept on breaking the fragile glass spheres. She was the only one in the family that loved fruit cake. I would remember her sneaking chocolates to both my brother and me in a small bowl at around 4 pm, right before my mom would pick us up, and if she didn´t have any, we would surely get some chocolate & almond ice-cream.
She loved the beach very much. I know that if she was still alive, she would visit me all the time, not only to take her to the beach, but also to go shopping together. She loved shopping as much as she loved watching her Mexican soap operas. Oh yeah, we wouldn´t even dare making noises while grandma was watching her "novelas" or we would be hushed in a non-fun way. We respected that from grandma, because she was always good to us, so that was like her "me" time. After all, she would let us watch lots of things that she really didn´t care for, and would still watch with us. (cartoons, rock music videos, English movies without subtitles, etc) She took care of us when we got sick, so it was a only obvious that we would feel grateful and take care of her when she got sick too. I feel blessed that I got to be with her during the last moments of her life. But I have to confess that I was in denial, because I would always tell her that she would live up to 430 years of age, even if her response was always the same: "Why so many?" She was the only one who would make me run to her house, in a desperate need to save her from her troubles, just to get there and hear a: "Oh dear, it´s okay now" and not make me mad, because for my grandma I would surely run a marathon just to change her lightbulbs, or jump the fence when she got locked outside. (Lucky for me it was only 10 blocks from my house) I guess that´s what you do when you love someone that much.

I tried to make her laugh all the time, hug her and kiss her, but you could tell that she missed my grandpa, and 21 years without him were just too many. So on February 13th 2006, she decided to join him to continue with their forever love story. I truly miss her, especially on this day, but I know that she is very happy next to her one and only true love, my grandpa. Every year, I do wish her a happy birthday, because to me, she is always with me and she knows that I am hugging her on this day. Between my mom and her, I am who I am today. The most important value in life to me, is to be grateful for those who with their wisdom teach you, love you, and protect you. So "welita" Guille, wherever you are, today I am having mango juice, and a chocolate in your name to celebrate you. Happy B´day, your "muñequita linda" (pretty doll) loves you very much!