I get a call from my mom this morning saying she dropped off my Easter basket in front of my door step.

“Te quiero Hijo, y aunque no estemos juntos, no se me olvida que hoy es Easter”

There’s a reason why my mom will never stop giving me an Easter basket.



A Thread

(1) My mom and dad came to the US and one of their first jobs they had was selling peletas on the streets. Makes sense since it’s hot in PHX 8 months out of the year.

You could make a lot but it was extremely hard work.

Easter was always a good day to be a paletero. The parks are full of families. You show up to the park and kids and families would flock to get a cold treat.

My mom knew that if she also went with my dad, it could have meant double the profit for the day.

(4) It was Just my 10 year old self and my 3 year old brother back then with my parents. My parents trusted me to look after my little bro when they went to work. We lived in an apartment complex so we always had people around and kids to play with.

(5) That Easter, My mom arranged for a neighbor to pick us up and take us to celebrate Easter with them.

(6) My mom tells us that she saw many families playing at the park, and even though it hurt her not to be with her kids, she knew she was working hard for us.

(7) After a full day of selling paletas, you don’t just go home. You still had to go to the paleteria y “hacer cuentas” with the boss. It could be a few hours before you got paid and got to go home

(8) My mom said she stopped earlier than normal so it wouldn’t be late but the “cuentas” took a little longer. She finally made it home to see how our day went.

(9) When she got home we were already in bed..

(10) She said she she found a bag full of diapers and food to take to the park. The same Items she told me the night before to pack for my little bro.

(11) She saw the Easter outfits she picked for us at the the edge of our beds and noticed they looked “ A little too clean”

(12) She then woke me up and asked me if the neighbor took us to the park. She first thought we ended up celebrating Easter at the neighbor’s home.

(13) I told her that the neighbors never came to pick us up..

(14) I don’t Remember that day at all, but my mom says she cried and felt so bad to see that I had everything ready but no one ever came.

(15) The image of my little bother and I in our Easter outfits, waiting at the door for the neighbor, is something that she has always brings up....

tears usually follow.

(16) “How could have I left you alone all day??”
She blames herself for thinking about the money

(17) No matter how many times I tell her it wasn’t her fault, she is adamant that it was. She feels horrible for leaving us all alone.

(18) Every Easter I get basket, no matter how old i get, no matter where I am.

(19) She wants me to know that she will not forget about me on this day like she did wen I was 10

(20) I don’t know if there’s a message here or why I really had to share it. Something about me not being able to see her during this quarantine.

(21) I love you mom..

End thread