Wiser With Age

Tag: mothers

  • Grateful for my mom, my inspiration

    Grateful for my mom, my inspiration


    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.
    Ida Echevarria at 89

    Meet the new exercise instructor, Ida Echevarria. Yes, at 89 my mom now leads a morning exercise class at her assisted living center. This is amazing because of her age for sure. However, what is even more amazing is where my mom came from. She inspires me, because she is a miracle. We have a motto in our family, “Miracles happen when God sees you working on a miracle.”

    Six years ago, Halloween night, she suffered a brain stroke and a spinal stroke. She felt a terrible pain in her back. My husband and I ran over when my dad called (we live five minutes away). We called the ambulance, and as she walked down the stairs, she lost use of her legs, and in seconds, she was blank – her mind was gone. She was airlifted to the hospital. We were told for the first time it is doubtful she will survive, and if she did, she would be almost in a coma state. So many times, we were told that or something similar. “She will never walk,” “never read,” “never do her word puzzles,” but they don’t know my mom. It took her four years to get her mind back and five to gain use of her legs. It was a combination of sheer determination on her part. She put on an attitude of joy, and despite what she was being told, she believed the opposite: “I will walk, read, think again.”

    My mom has been a superwoman my whole life. She was a teacher, an educational administrator, a marathon runner, a swimmer, a single mom, an aerobics participant, and now, an exercise instructor at 89.

    Right now, she is writing lessons plans for her class. Thinking of stories to entertain the residents throughout the class. She asked me to order her books on exercises for seniors. She uses weights, bands, and laughter.

    She is so happy. That is her secret sauce: be happy. My mom is optimistic, hopeful, and takes whatever state she is in and makes it better for herself and all.  I’ve seen her angry, I’ve seen her really serious so many times growing up, she was always fighting for us, and at the same time gave us experiences that made us laugh, learn and love life. She never gave up on herself, ever. She took classes on personal development, spiritual development, and positive mindset. When she retired at 55, she embraced a new a part of herself, her funny self. She wanted to laugh, have fun, and be happy. She won “Comedian of the Year” from her women’s golf group. She is always smiling and being fun loving. She continues that today at 89.

    I am so grateful for my mom, my role model, my best friend, and her smiling face. She inspires me, motivates me and enriches my life daily.

    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.Ida’s daughter, keynote speaker, coach and author, Pegine, is also a happy optimistic person like her mom. Pegine’s leadership and business blog was named 1 of the top 20 Women in Leadership Blogs in the World. She is also an award-winning author. Her book, “Sometimes You Have to Kick Your Own Butt,†was named the top 10 books for women, four years in a row, by Society of Human Resource Management. www.Pegine.com

  • In My Mother’s Words: Matriarchs

    In My Mother’s Words: Matriarchs


    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.
    Victoria (left) with her grandmother, María Victoria (center) and her mother, Bélgica (right).

    I recently came back from Honduras. I went home to celebrate my grandmother’s 92nd birthday. Only a handful of family members knew I was going, and it had been four years since my last visit. When I walked into my grandmother’s living room, she looked up at me almost in disbelief. She shouted “Bandida!†(The literal translation is “bandit,” but basically, what she meant is that I’m crazy and sneaky.)

    Unfortunately, the 92nd birthday party extravaganza didn’t quite play out as we had planned. The next day, my grandmother was hospitalized, and it would stay that way for the next four days. You know how they say, “Every second counts?” Well, had it not been for my mom’s swiftness in noticing something was wrong with my grandmother, we would’ve been attending her funeral instead. She’s fine now! Much better, but we almost lost her.

    My grandmother, María Victoria, is the matriarch of our family. She is the trunk of a family tree that consists of 9 children, 24 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. Despite her age, her mental clarity is astonishing. She will tell you stories from 70+ years ago with incredibly vivid detail. While she was in the hospital, I had lots of conversations with her. I asked her why she chose do make some of the decisions in life she made. During many instances, it had nothing to do with what was best for her, rather what was best for my aunts and uncles.

    It reminded me a lot of my mom. I constantly remind her she has to take care of herself. Yesterday alone she told me:

    “Yo se mija. Yo ya no soy la misma y tengo que pensar mas en ustedes.â€

    (My daughter, I know. I’m not the same anymore, and I need to think more about you two.)

    This response blew me away. Never has my mom ever not thought of us. Honestly, she’s thought of us too much and not enough about herself. But, she says the last thing she wants to do is cause us any pain. Meanwhile, the last thing I want is for her to ever be in pain.

    After she said this, it made me think of the parallels that exist between her and my grandmother. Both matriarchs. Both made many decisions based on what was best for their children. Both tried to do the best job they could’ve done within the circumstances life dealt them.

    My grandmother, a woman who doesn’t know how to read or write, raised a woman like my mother. A woman who was brave enough to leave home, who took on a new country and raised her children with the best education money and hard work can buy. Neither ever sits there and brags about their accomplishments. They simply say they did what they were supposed to do.

    As I’ve told you before, my mother compares my brother and I to her lungs. Part of me thinks that’s what helped my grandmother pull through – seeing how everyone rallied around her. How we all reminded her she still has fight in her, and we all still want her around. We gave her the boost of oxygen she needed.

    It’s been a scary 10 months between my mom’s diagnosis, and now my grandmother. That’s why this year Mother’s Day is extra special. This is why I’m more grateful than ever to have both my mom, and my grandmother, on Earth with me. It could’ve been a terribly horrifying outcome on both ends. Instead, I learned more about the wonderful trail of matriarchs I form a part of, which I couldn’t be more humbled and grateful for.

    Happy Mother’s Day.

    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.

    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.Victoria Moll-Ramirez is a broadcast journalist based in New York City. She is originally from Miami, FL and had the great fortune of being raised by the sassiest, spunkiest, wisest, most hysterical Honduran woman in the world. Victoria’s mother, Bélgica, is 60-years-old, resides in Little Havana (Miami) and enjoys a good margarita accompanied by a heartrending ranchera. Victoria blogs about her mom’s funny and wise sayings on, “In My Mother’s Words.â€