It Was Mami, who played a big part in making my 6th birthday party so memorable. My neighbors, who were around my age, my cousin Oniel, and I were playing with the balloons. I also had a Space Jam birthday cake—one of the best birthday cakes I’ve ever received.
It Was Mami, Halloween 1998. I was in 2nd grade. During lunchtime, I saw a lot of kids with their costumes. I was growing worried that my mom wasn’t going to bring me the costume, as she promised. About an hour later, my mom showed up in my classroom. In the back of the classroom, there was a big curtain. My mom and I went back there, and she helped me changed my clothes. When I came out of the curtain, most of my classmates were like, “Wow! Cool! Power Rangers: Turbo!” I had the Red Ranger costume. I remember one kid, Jose, gave me the thumbs up. Afterward, several girls from my class approached my mom because they needed help with their costumes too. They all lined up, and my mom helped each one of them. I felt like the coolest kid in class that day.
It Was Mami, who got into an argument with my teacher at PS. 132 because my teacher didn’t want me to walk around with a wheeled backpack. I stopped wearing a regular backpack because the weight of the textbooks was causing me back pain. My teacher didn’t understand it. Therefore, my mom put her in her place, and that was the end. My teacher stopped complaining, haha.
It Was Mami, who would take me to basketball practice every Saturday morning during the Winter Season at IS. 164.
It Was Mami, who took a cab from the Heights to the Empire State Building to bring me my lunch meals. I was upset because I forgot to take my meals with me. I was in a rush to go to work. But my mom made the sacrifice to bring that to me. She called me and told me that she was in the lobby. I left my desk and met up with her. Not too many moms would do what she did. She didn’t have to do that, and I didn’t want her to do that, but she prefers me to eat homemade food than spend money on outside food.
It Was Mami, who put her job on the line to take care of my grandmother during her final months of life. When her bosses threaten to fire her because she was taking too many days off from work to take care of my grandmother, she said, “Fire me! I don’t care. My mom is not a check.” My mom stood her ground. She took care of my grandmother until my grandmother passed away. My mom never got fired.
It was Mami, who is relentlessly on me to do comedy. She saw my potential because of all the silly things I do in the crib. I wrote my first two comedy shorts, Neighbors, Breakups and Surprises and Valentine’s Dinner. I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback and film festival selections for those two projects. Thanks to my mom’s advice.
Mothers shouldn’t be appreciated just one day of the year. They should be loved, celebrated, and acknowledged 365 days a year. Mothers are precious gifts from God. There’s no one like them.
On this gorgeous sunny day, I want to say Happy Mother’s Day to all the phenomenal mothers around the world. To everyone who has lost their mothers, my heart and my prayers go out to every one of you.
