Mothers' Love

Wow, I had a great time at my "Kick Me Out of The Country Party" on Saturday night! Thanks to everyone who was able to attend and those who sent their regards. I still have the Silent Auction going through Friday so get your bid in and get something awesome for yourself or a loved one!! A shout out to the following folks for their support:

Kate Moore (of Kate Moore Creative...she also designed my uber cool auction poster!!)
Keir Woods (of the Woods clan)
Anonymous (thanks for the X's and O's whomever you may be)
Mike Bensey (of Impulse Inc and also a giver of beef jerky aka the perfect travel food)

I am so grateful for the support and well wishes from all of you!!

Now for the Peru preparation update. So, I actually went and had a non-Cosmo related Spanish lesson with my friend Peggy last week! To celebrate Cinco de Mayo we went to La Esperanza for some truly authentic Mexican food. Located at the junction of Whittle Springs and Washington Pike the diner is tucked in the back of the grocery store. I am telling you it is now my favorite Mexican food in Knoxville. The quality is outstanding and the environment is as real as it gets (in Knoxville anyway). Our waitress who was from Ecuador spoke Spanish so it was a great opportunity for me to listen to Peggy (a Spanish teacher) and her converse, and I also practiced a bit myself. I am happy to say although I can not speak Spanish very well (yet), I understood a lot of the exchange. I mention this experience for many reasons. First because I really want some folks to try out the food, but also because the conversation between the waitress and Peggy got me thinking. She was telling Peggy how she came to be in the states. How her ex-husband got deported and that her ex-boyfriend is in jail for domestic abuse. How she has a two year old child that she is now caring for alone. You know as mothers and as women it does not matter where you are from we all have many hurdles to overcome. Not only does she have to worry about providing for her son (all the while she is away from her folks in Ecuador), but she also has a new language to learn; much like the situation I will be in soon. After I went home that evening and broke out my books to study more about Incan/Andean culture the thought of motherhood and it's challenges were heavy on my mind. As I dug a little beyond my Lonely Planet guide and into the history of the area this is some of what I found.

Although Catholicism is the main religion these days, there are still many festivals and traditions that are celebrated relating back to the beliefs from long ago. One of these is in regards to Mama Pacha or Pachamama. Defined as: "a goddess revered by the indigenous people of the Andes Pachamama is usually translated as "Mother Earth" but a more literal translation would be "Mother world" (in Aymara and Quechua mama = mother / pacha = world or land; and later spread fairly modern as the cosmos or the universe).[1] Pachamama and Inti are the most benevolent deities and are worshiped in parts of the Andean mountain ranges, also known as Tawantinsuyu (stretching from present day Ecuador to Chile and Argentina)." - Wikipedia

It is interesting that the Andean people jointly worship the Virgin Mary and Pachamama (who has also been revered as the Virgin de Candelaria) side by side with no thought that one should eradicate the other. Mama Pacha giving nourishment to us through the harvest/earth and Mary nourishing our soul/spirit. Both mothers, both giving of themselves in similar, yet slightly different ways. One of the traditions is to sprinkle a libation on the ground before a meeting or festival in honor of Pachamama. I don't think you have to believe in any religion to know that mothers (and fathers) give of themselves all of the time. I find the idea of Pachamama appealing as I have set a goal for myself to keep the balance by always giving back as much as I receive. I find that at times I have been all to willing to tip those scales in my favor.

So, after my daughter and I went to our garden plot on Mother's Day to harvest our first set of strawberries, I thought of Mama Pacha and all mothers. As we ate the berries I tipped a little of my water to the ground in honor of the love of all mothers including (but not limited to) Pachamama, Virgin Mary, my mother, grandmothers, and even our Ecuadorian waitress. I hope that when I get to Peru I can give back in a way that all of the Mama's would be proud of and help to keep the scales a little more balanced.