International Women's Day

I'm a Delicate Fucking Flower

Or something like that... ¡Hoooola! Today is the last day of  #SharkWeek and I couldn't be happier. I'm already feeling normal and by normal I mean not crying about absolutely everything. Tomorrow is Friday and even though it's the struggle weekend A.K.A I'm not getting paid until next week, there are reasons to be happy. The most fabulous and strongest lady I've ever met, finished her chemotherapy last week and she’s ready for surgery. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer back in July and two months later, Hurricane María hit Puerto Rico. She was supposed to start her treatment a week after the hurricane but for self-explanatory reasons, she ended up moving to good ol' Ohio with my sister. I'm stubborn like my mother but I wish I could have just a pinch of her strength and courage, she's brave, a smart ass and just plain incredible. Even when the side effects of the chemos were being physical and harming her, she never stopped smiling and those days were tough. She's at that age were sugarcoating her words is not a thing and you just can't say anything back. At the same time, as I grow older and unconsciously do things the way she did. I realize she's getting older and I just can't imagine a life without her and her unrequested opinions. We use to bump heads a lot in my teen years just because I was never afraid to speak my mind and frankly, we are too alike. At what point I actually started understanding that mama knows best? I don't know, probably when I was twenty-two years old and stopped being rebellious for no reason. My dad is coming on Saturday to help her out post-surgery and in a weird way, I think cancer brought us closer as a family. We've always been tight, from getting together to drink coffee in my parent's living room on weekdays to cookouts on a Sunday afternoon. They've always been really opinionated about my life and dating choices and most of the time, they are right. My family's approval means the world to me, perhaps that's why it shocks me that they like Ryan this much, maybe they just don't like Puerto Ricans. Ry makes fun of me because I'm an adult woman, living with her boyfriend but I haven't told my dad about my sleeve and it's mainly because I don't want to disappoint him. Growing up my role models were Xena the Warrior Princess, my mom, my grandma and my godmother, they were women fully dedicated to their families, smart and talented. My sister has those qualities, growing up we had to share a room at some point (which was hell for her since she's nine years older than me) and she was one of the coolest people I knew along with my cousin Lizbeth. Being this fortunate is not easy and to be able to realize it while you're still young, it's even better. So, today on International Women's day let's celebrate the wonderful ladies around us and let's keep fighting for those coming behind.