m-o-m (s)...

All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to the women who have profoundly impacted my life.

First and foremost, to my great-grandmother. Who at 85 years of age represented the foundation of all the successive generations and whose death I have still not come to terms with. Anywhere I go, anywhere that I travel, I wish you to be there with me. One day I will bring some of the few remaining items of yours that I have managed to steal from others in the family and bring it to Israel, a country you never got to see but always wanted to travel to. I hope that you may always provide me the strength I need to overcome any and all hardships I may face in life. Thank you for all your sacrifices and embodying unconditional love.

To my maternal grandmother Carmen who now assumes the leadership role of the oldest. It has taken awhile to realize why you are distant at times and come to grips that you do not react good to pressure. Perhaps when you have a strong mother like you did, it breeds children who are not used to fending for themselves. Sort of like the difference between a domesticated animal and a wild one. Hopefully you will realize soon that all the psychological chains of the past, placed by people who are no longer here on this earth, have corroded enough over time that they will break if you only have the will and the courage to accept freedom than servitude to invisible demons. Thank you for all the summers at your house and for always making the foods that I wanted. For teaching me how to play at dominoes and for giving me enough freedom to have my first girlfriend and first real kiss that summer of 1993. What happens in the woods of Florida, stays in the woods of Florida ;-) 

Lastly, to my mother Carmen without whose love for those first nine months and beyond, nothing would have been possible...quite literally. I'm glad I've got you for a mother...some stranger wouldn't have put up with me this long. Only a mother can communicate love without saying a word. For the many unspoken ways that you share your love in our family, I hope you know that you're loved and appreciated beyond measure.

“The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.” 

~Honore de Balzac