At the end of the book, Lourdes and
Enrique get the chance to be on the Don Francisco Presenta. On the show, they
talk about the decision Lourdes made to leave her children and come to the
United States, and discuss the affects it has had on their relationships.
Lourdes still does not know if she made the right decision and explains, “’Any
mother feels bad when she leaves her children alone. But at the same time, it
gave me strength and the courage to be here knowing that he could have things
he could never have had if I had stayed (in Honduras)’” (Nazario 264). Lourdes left
her two children when they were young, and because of this could provide them
with clothes, food, and an education. On the other hand, she lost their love
and became a stranger to her own children who struggled to understand why their
mother seemed to abandon them. Either way the children are left without
something that they severely need. It is a choice of either having a loving
mother while growing up hungry or having necessities, like food and clothes
without a mom.
While I have never had to make a decision
this life changing, I understand how hard it is to make big decisions. Even
when I am just trying to decide whether to go for ice cream or cake, I find my
mind going back and forth with the pros and cons of each item. Besides sweets, the
biggest decision I have ever had to make was in seventh grade. I had to decide
whether to come to Harpeth Hall for the next year, or to stay with my friends
at my old school. I thought about it for weeks, and spent long hours trying to
decide what the best thing was for me. Luckily, I feel that I made the right
decision in the end to change schools, and that choosing process gave me an
idea of what Lourdes had to go through. I know it was very hard for her to
decide what was best for not only her, but her entire family. I do not know whether
she and the many other migrant mothers made the right choice, but I am sure it
was a hard thing to do either way. What is the toughest decision you have ever
had to make? Do you think that you made the right choice in the end?
This is a great blog post, Grace Ann! I also wrote about this same situation in the book and the idea of hard decisions. Making decisions is never easy and you must consider all outcomes and the pros and cons of the situation. Some decisions are harder than others, but it's important to look at the greater outcome and try not to have regrets.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written! I liked the way you gave a simple example of choosing desserts then led to a choice of switching schools. I have also had to make a similar decision about which school I should attend. I was in third grade when we moved back from over seas and I had to decide which school I would attend for fourth grade. My choices were Covenant, Harding Academy, St. Paul, and Lipscomb Academy. I thought long and hard until decision day finally arrived, I chose Lipscomb Academy. I was very happy with my decision because all I cared about at that time was that their uniform had purple (my favorite color), they had amazing food (Chick-fil-a Tuesdays) and they had a pretty cool playground. Later realizing that is not something you should care the most about when choosing a school, I applied to Harpeth Hall seeking a place to attend that had more to offer.
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