You probably think I'm talking about the crib mobile that I fretted over for an entire week without giving up until we had our great result. But no ... it was my wall for the first Gloria, my Tata.
We chose the name Gloria for our daughter because of my Tata (my grandmother). Tata was SUCH a unique and special woman. I want to have memories to show Gloria one day the outstanding woman that she's named after. While Tata never made it to our wedding (she passed our sophomore year of college), she insisted on dressing up (and matching if you notice!) and taking pictures with us for prom. Evan and I were SO thrilled to have this picture with her and I knew it needed a special place in the room. I just didn't know HOW I would incorporate it.
The inspiration struck.
A couple weeks ago , I emailed family and asked friends on facebook to give me adjectives to describe our wonderful Tata. I got a great response! Most of them said "kind, generous, giving" and of course, my brother gave me a couple funny ones: "arroz, mofongo." You see, those are Puerto Rican dishes and my Tata could COOK!
Once I compiled my favorite 5 adjectives (Evan and I chose two of them and let the family pick the other 3), I got to work designing.
I found one print that I liked on etsy and then recreated it myself (sorry, but it saved me $15 dollars doing that). Then I used that one as inspiration and went Chevron crazy.
The result ...
a special corner paying homage to a VERY special lady.
Why we chose these words ...
Be Kind: Tata was SO very kind. She loved EVERYBODY that she met and everybody felt the same way in return. Tata lived with us for about 4 years when she was really sick (she had liver cancer). In that time, she became best friends with every single person, including our neighbor, the cleaning lady, the postal man, etc. It's who she was: everybody adored her. Connie (our neighbor) and Tata had a system where Tata would open her blinds when she felt well enough and Connie would just come on over to say hi. Tata had that effect on people. She made everybody feel welcome and fortunate to be with her.
Be Selfless: My aunt and cousin suggested this word and it is SUCH a good word. Tata thought about everybody else first. And if someone ever said they were sad about something, or missed something, she would do just about anything to ensure they had it. Case in point: one of our family members from Puerto Rico was chatting with her on the phone once and just happened to mention that he was craving an orange. The next day, Tata went to the grocery store in TEXAS, got 6 oranges, and paid $17 to have the oranges shipped to Puerto Rico! Mind you, Tata was not a wealthy woman AT ALL. She worked in factories her entire life and didn't even go to high school. But she was SO giving and though these oranges probably were spoiled by the time they got to Puerto Rico, it shows the woman she was.
I did three words in Spanish since we're raising our children to be bilingual.
Sea carinosa (be caring): Tata was SO very caring. She couldn't sit next to somebody without wanting to hold their hand, carress their back, or just give lots of kisses. Within a week of meeting Evan, she was ALWAYS taking his hand. They loved each other so much and I'm so glad they got to meet each other for a few years.
Sea Generosa (be generous): Like I said before, Tata was not a rich woman at all. She worked two jobs and so did my Grandpa just to get my Mom and aunt through school. She would leave the house at 4 am everyday just to help provide for a family. That being said, she was SO very generous with what she did have. She had this nasty habit of giving everyone $20. I can't count how many times I would be taking my jeans off in the evening and would notice she had slipped a $20 bill in my back pocket! She did it to Evan all the time too. He would try his darndest to notice so that he wouldn't take her money, but like I said, this is who she was. In other words, she was the opposite of a pickpocket. ; )
Sea Dulcesita (be a sweety): My Mom gave us this word and it was the one Evan wanted on the wall. It does describe her beautifully. She was SUCH a sweet lady. She had the brightest blue eyes you've ever seen and wanted to feed EVERYONE. If you told her "I feel like pancakes Tata!" she would have a dozen ready for you in two seconds. She made me cremita (a kind of oatmeal) EVERY SINGLE morning and had it waiting for me before I went to school. In other words, she woke up every day just to make me this. I often am angry at myself for not always eating it and just running out the door instead, or for not thanking her more often for it.
ALL of these adjectives describe her perfectly and they're what I want Gloria to be: kind, selfless, generous, caring, and a total sweety. I have a feeling she will be this and more.
Such an awesome idea! Very special and meaningful. It sounds like your Tata was an amazing lady. :)
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