Prologue
I grew up in a large family with seven siblings; three brothers and four sisters. I was the oldest daughter, which made me the “responsible” one. I was always willing to help with my younger siblings because I liked being in charge. My mother brought home a set of twins when I was ten years old, one brother and one sister and since I was old enough, my mother allowed me to help with feedings and changing diapers. I truly loved being a big sister. I also liked telling my younger siblings that they had to listen to me when mom or dad were not around because I was older than them. I often imagined that the twins were my babies, and I was their mother. I loved reading to them; especially stories about knights and dragons and princesses and castles. My favorite fairy tale was the story of Sleeping Beauty©. Sometimes, I pretended I was locked away in a tall tower, which was really the attic in our house, and that a handsome prince would come and kiss me and I would wake up and we would “live happily ever after.”
I grew up knowing that I always wanted to be a wife and mother someday. When I was a little girl and someone would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I never said I wanted to be a movie star, a model or a ballerina. I said I wanted to “get married and have lots of babies”. Of course, at the time, I still believed in fairy tales about marrying a handsome prince who would carry me away to his castle on a white horse. But, one thing I know I didn’t say growing up was, “I want to marry a Mexican.”
When I was 17 years old, I was hired as a secretary for the Internal Revenue Service and met my first husband. He was smart, he had money, and I was young and impressionable. Looking back, I realize that I wanted someone to take care of me and provide me with the fairy tale life I had been searching for. We dated while I was in college and shortly after I received my degree, we got married. We bought a small, brick house with a rose garden and had two beautiful daughters, Laura and Emma.
But, my husband did not turn out to be the knight in shining armor that I thought he was when we first met. In reality, the man I married turned into an abusive, controlling puppet master who locked me in a cage like Stromboli in the Disney© version of Pinocchio. After nine years of abuse, I found the courage I needed and I divorced “Stromboli”.
Somehow, I still believed my fairy tale prince was waiting for me and I decided to marry again three years later. This time I vowed my marriage would be the fairy tale I had been searching for. Our wedding ceremony had all of the elements of a fairy tale; the dress, the prince, and the white horse and carriage, but the fairy tale ended there. My new husband had swept me off my feet with his charm and promises of a better life. His idea of a better life turned out to be nothing but pipe dreams filled with big ideas, the need for a big house on a hill, better cars and other luxuries we could not afford. I became pregnant right away and we found out three months later that I was going to have twins. Well, I always said I wanted to have “lots of babies” so my wish was coming true. I carried the twins to full term and gave birth a boy and a girl, Joshua and Jenna, who were a handful but quickly became the center of my life. I was so thankful that Laura and Emma were old enough to help me with the twins. I was once again the wife and mother I was destined to be, but still waiting on my fairy tale life. My second marriage only lasted two years when I realized that I could no longer continue supporting my husband’s big dreams. We had both lost our jobs right after the twins were born. The money problems and my husband’s refusal to find a steady job, to stop spending money we did not have, and face the reality of our situation ended our marriage. When we divorced, we were amicable about it and agreed to remain friends for the sake of the twins. It was time to come to my senses. I told myself, “No more fairy tales; they are not real and it is useless to go on looking for one.”
Well, you know that old saying, and I’m paraphrasing here, when you are not looking for something; it has a way of finding you; that is exactly how Alberto and I found each other.
