Happy Birthday Mom in Heaven. April 18th, the day of your birthday was one of the worst days I had since my arrival to Mexico. Aside from immigration, banking, internet and cell service issues, the day of your birthday was my worst one in Mexico.
I was out in 27 degree weather for most of your birthday trolling for food, water and household items for my new apartment. I found a good restaurant to eat in. I even ordered a shot of the best tequila they had in honor of your birthday. I tried to look for a piece of cake, but was unsuccessful. I could only find bakeries with entire cakes, so since I am without refrigeration, I could not keep one fresh in 30 degree weather.
When I left the restaurant it was very dark and raining heavily. I didn’t have an umbrella and I was wearing sandals. The roads were ankle deep with water; therefore, my feet got soaked. It was then that I realized I had no towels and no blankets at my apartment. To make matters worse, I was lost.
I walked into stores asking to buy an umbrella, towels, blankets and asked for directions to my apartment. The shop keepers were so helpful and friendly; however, they had no idea where my street was. In Mexico, when asking for directions, if there is no number on apartment buildings, then you say what is close to it and the neighborhood in which it is located. In my case, where I live, besides saying my street name, I also had to include the stone house in the second alley where the apartments are. 2010 was the last year I lived in Mexico, so I completely forgot about the difficulty with addresses and finding places.
I arrived back to my apartment a couple of hours later. I was soaking wet and exhausted. I had no bed yet, so I bundled up some clothes and slept on top of them with my new blanket. I had no internet, so I couldn’t even complain to anyone back home about that horrible day I had.
Mom, the worse part of my day was neither getting rained on nor lost. It was not the fact that I had to sleep on the floor. The worst part of that day was that I could not call you to say Happy Birthday. Knowing that I will never talk to you on your birthday and every day after that for the rest of my life was the worst part.
Getting caught in heavy rain, getting lost in the dark, sleeping on the floor are all temporary situations. Never being able to talk to you is a permanent one. I will forever miss you Mom.