Mãe

You call yours mom, I call mine Mãe. You call your grandmother, I call mine vó. 

 These are the women who shaped my understanding of womanhood and motherhood.

The late Vó Dico

 There was no formality in my womanhood formation, just good ole organic living.

The late Vó Maria and my Mãe

I saw a lot of transparency. I saw a lot of the reality of what it means to live a good life in an flawed world.

My mãe holding my son and my my mother-in-law

So here I am, a mother myself. I told my kids I remember my mother at my age. I hope their memories of me as mamãe will be good.
I hope I will give them all they need to have a great start in life. I cannot tell you if my mãe was thinking that she was building a mother when she was raising me. What I can tell you is that she did a great job and I pray that she has many more years of healthy and peaceful life. I have a lot to learn still and I treasure her essence as my mãe.