Isabel

I just read a little article about immigrants and it made me reflect on Isabel, my other mother who recently, suddenly, passed on to the other side. Isabel lived with my family for many years and helped raise my brother and I because both of my parents worked full time. She was with me when I was born, bathed me, fed me, played with me, and took care of me. Until the day she left her body she called me "her dolly" and referred to me as "la niña" to all her friends and family, even though I'm now 29. I miss those names she called me, the sound of her voice, cooking and sharing food with her, and her laugh. Isabel enriched my life in so many ways. She was a part of my family. She ate dinner with us and watched TV with us at night. She and her son, my brother Julio, lived with us until I was 5 when they moved into their own apartment. She took care of our house up until the end of her life. She also cared for multiple family members of mine when they got sick, like my cousin and my grandma. Isabel and her son are from El Salvador and my family helped her get her green card. I can't imagine what my life would have been like without my Isabel, and I miss her terribly. I don't understand the sentiments behind the immigration laws and deportation, and people's strange notions of immigrants from Mexico, Latin and South America. It's truly a travesty. It's truly absurd. Thank you for listening.