In Loving Memory

Last week was one of the saddest times. 

Dad and I traveled to Guatemala for a vacation. We had planned this vacation a long time ago, but we knew that it might be a sad visit. Two weeks before, my mom left to Guatemala to go take care of my Grandma, who wasn't doing so well. We went to visit her as soon as we landed. 

Tears streamed down my face as I saw the sad conditions of hospitals in Guatemala. I could see the suffering in her face as my mom pleaded with the doctors to see her. I will never forget the hour that I spent in that hospital. 

She passed away not two days after that. Despite these sad last days, Grandma lived an exceptional life. She never could boast of riches and of fancy things, but her life is an example to me of a woman who was optimistic, creative, brave, strong-willed, humble, and a true follower of Christ. 

I remember her crying when speaking of one time when I feel asleep at her feet when she was cooking. 

I remember her faithfully waiting for the bus to drop me off from school when I was two; she would walk home with me and sit with me as I drank my bottle. 

I remember her patiently teaching me how to hold a crochet needle, undoing my awful stitches, telling me to start again. 

I remember her feeding me toast with butter and jelly, and letting my sister and I watch TV while mom and dad came home from work. 

I remember cutting the flowers from her yard when we would play kitchen with the cousins and her stern admonitions to leave the flowers be. 

This one time, my sister, cousin, and I wrinkled up a Kleenex and tied it to a string. Every time she would bend over to get it, we would pull the string. When she finally realized what was happening, she yelled out an insult, and then started laughing along with us. 

She was patient with me when I was a brat. She even defended me when my parents got mad. 

She taught me to love my country and about patriotism and civic duty. 

She taught me a love for history and art.

She taught me that my strong will, imagination, and intelligence are what make me myself. She taught me to speak my mind, and to not be afraid of what others think.

She taught me to be kind to others, to respect others' opinions and ideas, and to reach out to the spiritually and physically needy. 

No long eulogy would do her justice. 

I am grateful to her for her great example of a Proverbs 31 woman. I know I will see her again someday. 

María Rosario "Raquel" Medina Ortiz
26 March,1922- 21 August, 2013