Reborn in the USA

Getting the residency for my mom was a big step into beginning her new life's chapter, we would talk about what her plans would be as soon as she got it, and when she finally did it was happiness all around. However, there was a lot of stress surrounding how it would be the first time my mom had ever moved and lived away from Colombia in all her life. She would have to start from zero in a totally different country with no one to rely on apart from my sister and her husband. She would also worry about what this move would be like for my Grandmother, being so far away from her would hit them both a lot. Then like most big events in someone's life, my grandmother passed away and it shook us all. It put everything on break and it turned all of my mother's plans into hold, trying to rebuild her life in the USA had now to be done with the most difficult emotion holding onto her, grief.

"September 25^th is the date I moved to Portland. I left all behind, but I never thought about this decision. The only thing on my mind was to be close to my kids. Both are in the United States, and I was feeling lonely.  So, it was my birthday when I received an e-mail from the US embassy. It said that the residency was approved, but I needed to make an appointment for the interview. I remember when my daughter called me. I was happy, shocked, and nervous. Since that moment, my daughter started to plan and schedule everything: flights, appointments, transportation, moving. She was thinking about everything. Meanwhile, I was in shock and thinking about my mother, my birthday, my friends, and my plans to come every two months.

Since then, I started to think about it. When I visited my daughter for Thanksgiving and Christmas, I enjoyed the city, but living In Portland was a different story. I´m 58 years old and retired with so much energy but start it all over again…. What does that even mean?

Living with my daughter and her husband, no house, no friends, no job, no community.  Wow, it was so much to think about. I was so worried about leaving my mom, but at the same time, I had to prioritize myself and my future. My daughter who knows me very well, bought a ticket to come to Colombia to help me and be a moral support for the embassy appointment. I just tried to live one day at a time, and I started selling my furniture, giving things away, and spending time with Mom. Two days before my US embassy appointment, my mother died. All my world froze. I just didn’t understand what was happening.

That’s when my new life began, whatever that means."

 

COURAGEOUS THAN I EVER IMAGINED I COULD BE