MAMI: The Remarkable Jenny
I want to talk about my mother; She was a saint. I mean, she was a holy person, in that she had empathy, did not look down on anyone, was not racist, and was kind to everyone.
That said, at 4 -foot-11 inches, she was formidable.
This was a woman who gathered her then-four children and flew on a two-engine plane to join my dad in New York.
A woman who went back to school to get an associate degree and earn a raise and a promotion at 70 years old.
My mom had a presence about her. Just because she was tiny did not mean she was not visible.
My mom ran our family. Oh, my dad spoke when he had something to say, but mami was the matriarch, disciplinarian, and main decision-maker.
When mom spoke, we listened.
Born in 1913 to a farming family of (eventually) 12 children, six boys and six girls, Juanita Concepcion y Fontanez was the fifth child.
She told me once that she had a pet goat, but once it kicked her, it was taken away. I never did find out if the goat was used to make a “sancocho,” or meat stew.
My mother started working early. My father, on the other hand, was the only child of a well-off merchant.
