Anyway, I know Mom would have loved to live long enough to see how well the kids are doing. She used to love going to all our high school football games to cheer for my brother on the football field and me in the stands and at half time. Now that the boys are in high school and in the band program, I think of how happy Mom would be to attend their performances and cheer them on as well. And I know that Paul Jr. still missing her very much, but even he’s been able to come to terms with the loss and is doing great in school.

So, it’s nice to know that the kids are turning out just like Mom would have liked them to; just as it’s comforting to remember all the support she used to give us when we were little. With her memory still fresh in all our hearts, I know we would all be wishing her a happy Mother’s Day today if she were still here, most likely over an expensive steak dinner. And for anybody reading this who knew her personally, we thank you for keeping her in your heart as well.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the other moms out there. I hope you realize how much you mean to your children, even if they don’t tell you very often.

I will never forget when I used to work in catering full-time.  There were times I would get home from work very late at night, or very early in the morning.  Mom would make me a meal and sit and talk with me until I either went off to bed, or had to quickly change and head back in to work.  We had many meaningful talks over a plate of her delicious food.  She made the absolute Mexican rice; everyone that ever tasted it agreed with that statement.  She also made very delicious menudo, caldo, and dishes she referred to as “sopas”.  Basically, that meant anything that had a sauce to it.  My two favorite sopas were conchitas and fideo.

So, my brother in Boston recently asked me to send him some fideo because it’s difficult to obtain there without a high price tag.  I can totally understand how he could long for another taste of Mom’s home cooking.  So, I went to the store and got him a couple of boxes of fideo and some comino.  I then decided to record a cooking video so that I could show him how Mom taught me to make it.  And in honor of her memory, I have been teaching my daughter how to cook as well.  Not only do I want her to know the comfort of sitting down with me and the rest of our family to talk over a plate of delicious homemade food, but I also want her to be able to recreate that experience with her own family one day.  So naturally, she can be seen in the cooking video giving a helping hand.  Usually, she helps out a lot more than you see in the video.

So, for my brother Nick, or anyone else wanting to experience a taste of her love, I offer the video here on this website for your convenience.

View Video

I know she would be very happy to have seen her grandsons performing in the high school band, just as she did attending the football games when my brother and I were in high school. I was in the band, and my brother was on the football team. She didn’t even like football before, but she quickly grew to love the experience of high school football in Texas. I can only imagine how much prouder she would have been had our football team and band been bigger and better than they were. And I know she would enjoy my boys performing in one of the top bands in the city!

Unfortunately, she left us just before Jr. could enter his freshman year. He was always her favorite grandchild. That may have changed when Eva was born, but she and Jr. still had that special bond though.

Anyway, she will always be in our hearts, and she will continue to influence my family in a big way. I am very grateful to have such a wonderful family; and I only wish I can do as good a job raising them as my mother did me!

I know she would approve of how we are keeping it together in her absence.  She was always worried that we wouldn’t be able to manage without her.  Although we are managing, we miss her so much.  She would also be pleased that we think of her so often.

I can no longer tell her in person that I love her and appreciate her on special occasions such as Mother’s Day.  However, I know she left this earth knowing how much she meant to all of us.

Happy Mother’s Day Mom

My mother was probably the most influential person in my life, and I will never forget her.  I often remember early moments in my childhood that have stuck with me all these years; simple things like resting in her lap while she comforted me.  My earliest memory is of me in the hospital, where I spent a lot of time as a baby because I used to have seizures.  It’s probably my only memory of this very early time of my life, but I distinctly remember hearing my mother’s voice talking to one of the nurses nearby while viewing the walled sides of my hospital bed; similar to the small beds you often see in a hospital’s nursery.

Another memory would be one of my mother returning home after leaving for work because she could hear me crying for her from down the street.  It’s funny how many of these memories can remain in my head, even though I actually don’t remember much about my early years.  There’s a certain comfort that comes from that, one that I will never forget.

I am glad my own family and I remained close to her through the last years of her life.  We may not have always got along, but there was always an understood level of love and respect among us.  She didn’t have much to her name when she left this earth, but she did have the one thing she really cared about.  That one thing, was a loving family.  From what I can tell, that was all she ever needed.  She was a very proud woman; proud to have raised a family she was glad to call her own.  She never hesitated to brag about her children, and she never missed any of our school performances while growing up.  She brought us many laughs, and many tears.

I will always remember her on Mother’s Day, her birthday, and the day she passed.  I can’t bring myself to think that it will ever get any easier to accept her absence from my life, but I am determined to remain strong and move along with my life.  You see, I learned that from her.  She was the strongest person I’ve ever known.  Strong enough to fight death off for many years, much longer than the doctors had ever expected her to survive.  I am proud to have that very identifiable trait of hers.

Happy Mother’s Day Mom!

Your loving son,
Paul.

I am still saddened at the fact I can no longer see her, but I know she sees me from Heaven and is smiling upon not only me, but all of us.

Happy Mother’s Day Grandma you are deeply missed and  never forgotten.

Sending my love to Heaven Above,

Your grandson Josiah

To me my grandma was my idol, I loved her and looked up to her.  I knew that one day she would pass away, and every night I would pray that she wouldn’t, that she would stay with me for the rest of my life.  I know that she is in a better place, but that doesn’t mean that she is gone.  My grandma, Aurora Castillo, will always live on in our hearts, she will be with us and never leave.  She is a part of us all.

You will always have a place in my heart Aurora, it was a blessing to have known you if only for a short time, your strength ,love ,warm heart and smile will truely be missed ..I only wish i could have met you one last time …

May your spirit live on elder ..Ashe!

Love,
Sonya

To watch over and care for us as only a mother can
To love and nurture our growth throughout the years
To wipe our tears away with laughter
To counsel us through our struggles seen and unseen
To show support right or wrong-at all times a mother only sees her child

May her tears becomes your strength
May her prayers becomes your faith
May her sacrifices become your stepping stones
Her strengths are now part of you

As you raise your own children
The strengths, wisdom, love and humor of your Mother appears through you
A smile of serenity strikes hearing her counsel naturally flow through you
Then you know: How God choose with precisional loving care
- someone to physically love you as he would-your own angel

Your MOTHER

In your darkest hour when the pain of her absence strikes
Dry your tears with fond memories
Seek spiritual solace in knowing reuniting again is promised
After all, she’s only temporarily resting in Heaven

The struggles of life only crystallizes clarity of your purpose!

With geniune love,
Your niece – Walter & Gloria’s daughter

Now that I think about it, she always put us before anything. The things she did for our family, and she always sacrificed her time and energy to take us whenever we needed to go places. I am so happy to have known such a wonderful woman, and even though we weren’t related by blood, she was one of the people I loved the most.

She will never die because she still lives in each and every one of us. I love her and am happy she’s now with God.