A Beloved Visit

When I was a child, she was a very tall, elegant, imposing woman who always smelled good. She lived in France during her postgraduate studies, so her outfits and perfumes were a reflection of her life in that country. The culinary skills she learned there and brought home to her Mexican family were delightful. With a curvaceous body, brown eyes and fair skin, her glasses, scarves and a coin purse in the shape of a little black mouse were always part of her outfit.

She has been an important figure in my life, present at all times, whether near or far, always connected. Every time she came to visit us, she brightened the day with her hugs, playfulness, smiles and signs of love, perhaps the ones she missed from her own home. Smart, hard-working and with subtle mischief in which she wraps her comments (which can sometimes sound a bit bossy), they are just a token of her love and guidance to help you grow up. She is someone I am proud to call my beloved aunt and adopted godmother, Natalia.

With a name inherited from my great-grandmother and now passed on to me, Natalia is the oldest sister of my mom's family. They are seven sisters and a brother who died when he was a baby. My mom is the youngest daughter, which I think may be the reason my aunt took care of my mom and her family. Natalia never got married or had children, which made all her nieces and nephews like her own.

When she came back from France she started to work in a scientific research center where she got a prize in her name for her contributions in science and also she got her name on one of the main entrance buildings of that center. That was the same place where I received my master’s degree and worked with some of her colleagues, which sometimes meant being in her shadow, as they expected me to meet and achieve the high standards and goals they came to expect from her.

She was the first person in the family to get a PhD. That inspired me to reach for this same goal, which proved more difficult than I expected but I also achieved it. Unfortunately she paid more attention to her work than her health and she started to go down little by little like many other scientists at the research center. In the end, she decided to retire early and to focus on her health. All this made me realize the importance of family and the urgent need to pay attention to avoid burning out at work, and to try to keep a balance between work and personal life. As Hilary Clinton once said, “Do not confuse having a career with having a life.”

The time has passed and the moment to reap what she has sown has arrived. I hope in the near future to be able to repay at least a portion of everything she has given to her family, friends, colleagues, students and people around her. I just can't thank her enough for being a positive role model in my life, to encourage me when I am doubtful and inspire me to be the best version of myself. I’m blessed to have her in my life.

~

Natalie Sonntag - Mexico