Every year, I choose a word to set the tone of my year. Often, my word is in Spanish. The first year, my word was “Supera”. Supera means overcome. I chose this word because I needed to overcome my fears and start acting in the best interests of my family. This meant more communicating with everyone and standing up to my fierce mom. Boricua moms are no joke. I venture to say that Boricua moms from Vieques are even fiercer! It wasn’t easy. It took months. I frequently revisited my word, “supera” to encourage myself. Finally, she agreed to getting medical care. Then I had to overcome my feelings following her diagnosis in order to get her the medical treatment she needed. My mom is doing much better now. You can often see her here, on my Instagram and on my ELKAmade Facebook page.
Last year, I chose the word “Cumplir”. Cumplir is defined as accomplish, carry out, comply with, attain or reach. To me it meant to fulfill or carry out my obligations. I had obligations to my family, especially my mom, and to myself. I wanted to do right by all of us so when I felt discouraged or lazy, I’d reach to my word for a reminder. I did okay by all of us. And for myself, I’m especially proud that I finally got two of my patterns published -- Skew Too and the Vines and Leaves Cowl or Wrap.
This year, the word that came to me was “sigue.” This means, keep going. It can also mean follow. I was cumpliendo with my family and I needed to continue or keep going. When I think, “keep going” I think of Dory. Yes, Dory the adorable, positive-thinking, short-term memory-impaired, Regal Blue Tang from Finding Nemo. Dory always tells herself, “Just keep swimming.”
Dory also reminds me of my mom. My mom has Alzheimer’s. She’s in the early stage, but she has a significant short-term memory impairment. Like Dory, my mom tends to forget things we’ve talked about and will ask again about 10 minutes later (except when she’s said no to something, she doesn’t seem to forget that 👀 ) Like Dory, my mom is also adorable, light-hearted, and happy. Laughter is her favorite expression. Kindness towards others is her way. She always talks to people, smiles at babies, fusses over dogs, and marvels over birds and other wonders of the City. Like Dory, my beloved Mai is so positive and forgetful, she can really make my life difficult. She doesn’t fully understand the consequences of her actions or inactions. She thinks everything is not a big deal. In order to get to appointments, see relatives or fulfill other commitments, a lot of planning and mental gymnastics are required. It can get complicated, but Mai’s well-being is a responsibility I want. She’s always been an amazing mom. I love her and I want to take care of her, but . . . as I’ve mentioned, caring for her is not without its challenges!
And the there’s my plans. I have them, but when my personal life gets complicated, it’s hard to find the time and brain power to address them. This year was especially busy with my mom’s appointments and researching high schools for my kid. It seemed that every day there was something to research and review or somewhere to be and very little time to devote myself to my designs. I have at least 10 more original designs swimming around partially completed that I need to translate into patterns. I'd really like to complete at least one every month.
Necesito seguir cumpliendo. I need to keep fulfilling my obligations to my family and myself, step by step, little by little, at my own pace. So, my word for 2018 is Sigue, but instead of a word, I'll keep the image of Dory. "When life gets you down, you know what you've got to do? Just keep swimming." Dory’s optimism is a bit annoying, but she’s also right. I’ll keep making plans for my family and myself and hoping they work out, but since the best-laid plans do not always work out, I’ll just keep swimming.
Dory also reminds me of my mom. My mom has Alzheimer’s. She’s in the early stage, but she has a significant short-term memory impairment. Like Dory, my mom tends to forget things we’ve talked about and will ask again about 10 minutes later (except when she’s said no to something, she doesn’t seem to forget that 👀 ) Like Dory, my mom is also adorable, light-hearted, and happy. Laughter is her favorite expression. Kindness towards others is her way. She always talks to people, smiles at babies, fusses over dogs, and marvels over birds and other wonders of the City. Like Dory, my beloved Mai is so positive and forgetful, she can really make my life difficult. She doesn’t fully understand the consequences of her actions or inactions. She thinks everything is not a big deal. In order to get to appointments, see relatives or fulfill other commitments, a lot of planning and mental gymnastics are required. It can get complicated, but Mai’s well-being is a responsibility I want. She’s always been an amazing mom. I love her and I want to take care of her, but . . . as I’ve mentioned, caring for her is not without its challenges!
And the there’s my plans. I have them, but when my personal life gets complicated, it’s hard to find the time and brain power to address them. This year was especially busy with my mom’s appointments and researching high schools for my kid. It seemed that every day there was something to research and review or somewhere to be and very little time to devote myself to my designs. I have at least 10 more original designs swimming around partially completed that I need to translate into patterns. I'd really like to complete at least one every month.
Necesito seguir cumpliendo. I need to keep fulfilling my obligations to my family and myself, step by step, little by little, at my own pace. So, my word for 2018 is Sigue, but instead of a word, I'll keep the image of Dory. "When life gets you down, you know what you've got to do? Just keep swimming." Dory’s optimism is a bit annoying, but she’s also right. I’ll keep making plans for my family and myself and hoping they work out, but since the best-laid plans do not always work out, I’ll just keep swimming.
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