Memory Lane Friday - Mother's Day

For Memory Lane Friday this week, we had a choice of what to write about: Mother's Day or 4th Grade. I've decided to go with the Mother's Day theme. And yes, this is going to be a pictorial journey honoring mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers.

 This first photo is of a girl and her grandmother, obviously. Oma and I are walking somewhere. Judging by the outfit Oma is carrying for me, we're going to get my portrait taken. I know this because the date on the photo is July 1973 (I was about 2.5 at the time) and because I have professional portraits of myself in that outfit from - you guessed it - July 1973. Sir Rafa took this photo of Oma and me.

My Oma and I are headed out, El Paso, July 1973.

Now here I am with my mom.  My dad took this photo. This was immediately after my Air Force OTS (Officer Training School) graduation at Maxwell Air Force Base, in Montgomery, AL. I was facing the sun, hence the sun squint.

My mom and I are at my OTS graduation, Montogmery, AL, 19 Nov 1999.

Okay, here's another photo in the "moms and kids" section. Baby Liv and I are home together in the Boston area; she's almost 3 months old here. Yes, this was the period where I hadn't bothered to brush my hair after groggily getting up in the morning.

Here's Livie and Grandmamá (and Grandpapá on the left) at the party we had after Livie's Baptism. Grandmamá is obviously overjoyed; this is one of my favorite photos of the two of them.

Olivia's Baptism party at the O' Club, Hanscom AFB, MA, 22 Apr 2006.

Here's another grandmother/granddaughter photo. I took this photo soon after Livie and I moved from the Boston area to New Mexico. We'd just gotten to the area, and hadn't yet bought/moved into our house in New Mexico. My mom had helped me and Livie travel to the El Paso/Alamogordo area. She had scheduled a few days in El Paso to visit, before heading home. I took this photo in Oma's kitchen. This, by the way, is one of my mom's favorite photos of her and Liv.

Olivia and Abuelita in El Paso, 25 Jun 2006.

 Okay, here's the great-grandmother/great-granddaughter photo! I took this photo of them at my Aunt Lily and Uncle Joe's house in El Paso on Veterans' Day 2006. They had invited us (Oma, Sir Rafa, Andrew, myself, Livie, and Uncle Hector) over for dinner. I can't remember if it was a Veterans' Day dinner (since Sir Rafa, Uncle Joe, Hector, Andrew, and I were veterans), or if it was because my birthday was the next day. Maybe it was a just-because dinner. Regardless, it was a fun time and a tasty homemade meal, thanks to Aunt Lily.

Oma and Olivia in El Paso, Veterans' Day, 2006.

Now I can't forget a photo of Aunt Lily (the Great-Aunt, and a great aunt) and Livie!

Aunt Lily and Livie!

Happy Mother's Day to Oma, Aunt Lily, Abuelita, and Grandmamá!

Memory Lane Friday is hosted by Lisa at Two Bears Farm. Please click on the button below to read her entry for the week, as well as other contributors' entries.

Remembering Saturday May 8, 1993

Today, Jessica, a fellow Lake Forest College (LFC) classmate of mine (see Little Merry Sunshine for her blog), wrote about how today, Saturday May 8, is the 17th Anniversary of the day we graduated from college - Saturday May 8, 1993 in Lake Forest, IL.

Wow! That seems like so very long ago once you do the math and realize it was seventeen years ago today! Holy cow!

So, in honor of that day over a decade and a half ago, I'm going to post some photos my dad and grandfather took back then in the Enchanted Forest.

Friday May 7, 1993. We're at Lake Michigan, at the beach in Lake Forest, IL:

L to R: Me, Oma, Sir Rafa, my Mom

Again, Friday May 7, 1993 at the beach in Lake Forest, IL:

L to R: Me, my mom, Oma (look at how healthy Oma looks!)

Saturday May 8, 1993: Bagpipes at the beginning of the graduation procession:

Graduation day - President Eugene Hotchkiss, III (in red), and Bill Kurtis, our graduation speaker, in the middle:

President Hotchkiss is speaking:

Bill Kurtis, our graduation speaker, is standing to Pres. Hotchkiss' right (on the left of the photo).

Here I am in my cap and gown. I must've been lining up with the I surnames behind the Hs:

Here's another candid shot of me in my cap and gown:

Here I am, in the midst of graduating, shaking President Hotchkiss' hand:

I've got that important envelope in hand (and there's Bill Kurtis to my right):

I've graduated! Now I'm heading back to my seat:

I'm getting a hug from my grandfather, Sir Rafa:

Note he's holding "Crackers" his cane (can't see the bulldog face from this angle). This hug was the best graduation gift I could've ever received. 

I'm posing with my grandparents after the ceremony.

I don't know why none of us is smiling.

Rodrigo, myself, and my brother Joe:

My parents and I are posing together after the ceremony:

After the ceremony, I'm posing with the woman who taught me how to read:

So thanks to Jessica for reminding me of the importance of this day. Wow, that was a fun walk down memory lane. I have a lot of great memories from attending LFC, and being "home" in the Chicagoland area. 

And I'm glad I've had the opportunity to reconnect with friends from my days attending LFC . . . like Jessica, Beth (see her blog, Social Climbers), and many others I've reconnected with on social media (like Facebook and LinkedIn).

Oh, and "Happy Anniversary" to my fellow LFC classmates of 1993! If I had a margarita in my hand right now, I'd offer you all a "Cin cin!"