InsaneJournal

I met Maria DeLuca my first day of Kindergarten. I was a shy five year old who was more comfortable speaking in Spanish than English so I didn't really talk to anyone. When we had to line up to go outside and we needed a line buddy, Maria picked me and declared us mejores amigas. From that day on, we were inseparable.

Many sleepovers happened over the years and there's always one that sticks out in my mind; I was eight and my mother had left for the first time. Papi sent me over to Maria's that weekend thinking it would cheer me up but the first night there, just before bed time, I sat there at the kitchen table crying over my cookies and milk. Mimi, Maria's mother, came over and sat down with me. She let me cry it out on her shoulder without even asking why I was upset. I think she already knew, probably because of town rumors or her psychic ability. We talked after I calmed down and she promised she'd always be there for me when my mom wasn't.

And you know what? She always kept that promise. As my mom kept taking off and coming back, ultimately disappearing for good when I was seventeen, Mimi was always there for me. She was the mom I could count on, the mom I could depend on, the mom that was there.

Her mental health isn't so good back home these days. The last time I saw her, she kept mistaking me for my sister but at the same time, she was still the same old Mama DeLuca that I know and love. We ( myself, Maria, and Alex ) had one last great day with her, one filled with milkshakes and a drive in movie ( something we would always do with her on the weekend as kids ), before she was put in a nursing home and it's a day I'll always cherish just like I'll always cherish her. Here's to Mimi Deluca, the best surrogate mom out there.