Reflections of Family Togetherness, Victoria Sanchez

As host of this podcast it is so thrilling to have my mom share her positive imprints on the show which are our family values. My mom, Victoria Sanchez, reflects on family togetherness and the values that have kept us together.

Transcript
Speaker:

Positive positive stories are everywhere people and their positive actions, inspire, positive achievements.

Speaker:

Your PI could mean the world to you.

Speaker:

Get ready for your positive imprint.

Catherine:

Hello, this is Catherine, your host of the podcast, Your Positive Imprint, the variety show,

Catherine:

featuring people all over the world whose positive achievements inspire positive thought and action.

Catherine:

Exceptional people rising to the challenge.

Catherine:

Music by the talented Chris Nole.

Catherine:

Some of my favorites are 'Lay across my piano,' 'Hambone boogie,' 'Wide horizon,'

Catherine:

'Life on Mars,' 'Gumbalaya,' And of course, 'Elevated Intentions.' learn more about

Catherine:

Chris at ChrisNole.com, C H R I S N O L E.

Catherine:

Follow me on Facebook and Instagram, Your Positive Impirnt connect with me on LinkedIn.

Catherine:

Check out my YouTube channel, Your Positive Imprint.

Catherine:

Listen from the podcast platform you're listening from now.

Catherine:

Or of course, Apple podcast, Google podcast.

Catherine:

iHeart Radio, Spotify, Amazon music, Podbean, or any podcast platform, and don't forget to share

Catherine:

your favorite episodes with friends and family.

Catherine:

Under that play button on my website, yourpositiveimprint.com is a share button.

Catherine:

Click that button then share.

Catherine:

Most podcast platforms do allow you to also share.

Catherine:

I certainly appreciate that support.

Catherine:

And please hit that five star review and feel free to leave positive reviews.

Catherine:

Your positive imprint.

Catherine:

What's yourP.I.?

Catherine:

Today is a special day and I don't want to take that up with any announcements.

Catherine:

I just want to go directly to my mother Victoria Sanchez on this very special day.

Victoria Sánchez:

Thank you, Catherine.

Victoria Sánchez:

It is Mother's Day and I want to wish the mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers and godmothers

Victoria Sánchez:

and stepmothers all over the world, have a very happy and blessed Mother day whenever you celebrate

Victoria Sánchez:

it and I was on episode 77 when you detailed my community involvement in my professional activities.

Victoria Sánchez:

So today I'd like to talk just about our family and I'm going to let you read something, Catherine.

Victoria Sánchez:

Okay.

Victoria Sánchez:

And that's yes.

Victoria Sánchez:

And I will give the introduction.

Victoria Sánchez:

When we were married, I got monthly gifts and monthly messages.

Victoria Sánchez:

This was on our third month anniversary.

Victoria Sánchez:

And mind you it's the third month not year, the third month, but it was the, it was

Victoria Sánchez:

the foundation for our marriage, truly.

Victoria Sánchez:

And this is what my husband said August, 1956.

Victoria Sánchez:

Yes.

Victoria Sánchez:

Should I have said the date?

Victoria Sánchez:

Of course,

Catherine:

To my loving wife.

Catherine:

I pray my dear, that God will be good to us and bless us with children who will make us

Catherine:

proud to reflect our memories upon them, whose happiness was the fruit of our labor and our love.

Catherine:

And in the end, I want us to look at each other saying together, we have lived

Catherine:

our lives, raised our children together.

Catherine:

We saved our souls together.

Catherine:

We made the world a better place to live.

Catherine:

Now as our lives come to an end, we shall together enter into the

Catherine:

supernatural wedlock of eternal paradise.

Catherine:

God so loved us that he brought us to him United for all eternity.

Catherine:

My dear.

Catherine:

How do I love you?

Catherine:

I love you deep from within now and forever.

Catherine:

Happy anniversaryRozie..

Catherine:

Yes.

Catherine:

And

Victoria Sánchez:

you can guess that indeed, my husband, is diseasaed.

Victoria Sánchez:

Excuse me.

Victoria Sánchez:

And I have heaven on earth with him, but that was the beginning.

Victoria Sánchez:

I want to tell you that we had five children.

Victoria Sánchez:

We have five children.

Victoria Sánchez:

Mary Carol, Robert, Catherine, and Linda.

Victoria Sánchez:

Was four girls and one son, four daughters, and one son.

Victoria Sánchez:

And.

Victoria Sánchez:

As a family, we espouse faith from the very beginning.

Victoria Sánchez:

All of our children have been, are married.

Victoria Sánchez:

They have wedding anniversaries ranging from in 2020, from 40 years to 27 years,

Victoria Sánchez:

we have eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren and two step great-grandchildren.

Victoria Sánchez:

Our children all graduated from the university with many of them with

Victoria Sánchez:

Further degrees, masters, doctors, the, we have seven grandchildren who did the same.

Victoria Sánchez:

The eighth is working on this, on his Master's now.

Victoria Sánchez:

So we have truly been blessed as a family, but it started out with faith.

Victoria Sánchez:

And I want to just tell you about some of our activities.

Victoria Sánchez:

When we were, when the first children came along, we were in Albuquerque and my husband was a practicing

Victoria Sánchez:

attorney and he took the bus every day to work as an attorney, he had his own practice and later as a judge

Victoria Sánchez:

he was, he always took the bus public transportation.

Victoria Sánchez:

That was part of saving the environment as related to their kids when they wanted to perhaps drive.

Victoria Sánchez:

No, you take the bus.

Victoria Sánchez:

Yes.

Victoria Sánchez:

And I hear Catherine laughing.

Victoria Sánchez:

It's true.

Victoria Sánchez:

When I was so anxious for my husband to come home, that I would go and take the

Victoria Sánchez:

children to the bus stop to meet him.

Victoria Sánchez:

And then later they got a little older in school.

Victoria Sánchez:

The oldest, would go to the bus stop to meet their daddy, but they would take all their friends

Victoria Sánchez:

with them and they would have maybe 12 or more at the bus stop and they would all be yelling

Victoria Sánchez:

'daddy, daddy'.

Victoria Sánchez:

The bus drivers, the bus driver and the passengers they all got a big kick out of that.

Victoria Sánchez:

So it's an important part of our life was family.

Victoria Sánchez:

Sundays were spent, they were reserved for the family.

Victoria Sánchez:

We did a lot of hiking, a lot of going to the zoo and having picnic lunches at the zoo.

Victoria Sánchez:

Did a lot of things with the family.

Victoria Sánchez:

Always close togetherness.

Victoria Sánchez:

We went to church, of course every the days on Sundays.

Victoria Sánchez:

So, during the week to school, we did all the things that parents do with their children, like

Victoria Sánchez:

dancing lessons, the sporting activities, the basketball, the football, the cross country,

Victoria Sánchez:

the piano lessons, guitar lessons, and so on.

Victoria Sánchez:

I'd like to tell you one beautiful backpacking trip, because it's one that the kids have talked about.

Victoria Sánchez:

They were young, the youngest was five.

Victoria Sánchez:

And so, the oldest would have been a 13 and we went down to theGila.

Victoria Sánchez:

Actually, we were camping.

Victoria Sánchez:

This was not backpacking that trip.

Victoria Sánchez:

We were camping.

Victoria Sánchez:

We were camping on Willow Creek and we happened to go hiking.

Victoria Sánchez:

And when we were hiking, we noticed signs of elk.

Victoria Sánchez:

And we said, and we always taught the kids, everything that we could about the out-of-doors, appreciation for

Victoria Sánchez:

plants, animals, conservation, the environment they knew about the trails, how to be trail savvy and so on.

Victoria Sánchez:

We said, well, if you want to see the elk, we can come out at night and we'll hike to this to

Victoria Sánchez:

this destination where we'd seen all the sign.

Victoria Sánchez:

So that evening the youngest and I stayed in the campsite and the rest went hiking

Victoria Sánchez:

to the place where they'd seen the elk.

Victoria Sánchez:

It was not too far, a couple of miles.

Victoria Sánchez:

And my husband put them all behind some cover.

Victoria Sánchez:

And then the op came and they observed the elk, the mother elk the cow elk saw them

Victoria Sánchez:

and she had a calf and she started pawing.

Victoria Sánchez:

And so my husband said 'time to go'.

Victoria Sánchez:

So they left.

Victoria Sánchez:

And they, we went back to our, at that time we had a tent trailer, we had outgrown the tents.

Victoria Sánchez:

So that was a lot of fun to see the elk in their natural environment.

Victoria Sánchez:

Prior to that, we had been backpacking.

Victoria Sánchez:

Let me think...

Victoria Sánchez:

the first trip, the first backpacking trip for.

Victoria Sánchez:

For them all was Grand Canyon.

Victoria Sánchez:

Is that right?

Victoria Sánchez:

Catherine?

Victoria Sánchez:

That would have been in the spring.

Victoria Sánchez:

That was the whole family.

Victoria Sánchez:

That was the whole family.

Victoria Sánchez:

Okay.

Victoria Sánchez:

And thenGila later was yes.

Victoria Sánchez:

Yes.

Victoria Sánchez:

But I was trying to think of Oh, I know.

Victoria Sánchez:

I want to talk about another backpacking trip.

Victoria Sánchez:

I want to talk about the one to Lake, Katherine.

Victoria Sánchez:

via Spirit Lake and Stewart Lake, that was our adventure.

Victoria Sánchez:

So we have two, three-man tents.

Victoria Sánchez:

So it meant four of us had to sleep in one tent and three in the other.

Victoria Sánchez:

The, we went first to Spirit Lake and then to Stewart Lake and the Pecos wilderness,

Victoria Sánchez:

which is a beautiful area in New Mexico.

Victoria Sánchez:

And then we went to Lake Katherine, and Katherine is 11,000.

Victoria Sánchez:

I think 11,700 feet high it's so ways to get it's termed a difficult hike.

Victoria Sánchez:

And it was so we pitched our tents, beautiful Lake.

Victoria Sánchez:

It was in a bowl.

Victoria Sánchez:

And you, the forest service regulations state that you have to be so many feet

Victoria Sánchez:

from the Lake, which of course we were.

Victoria Sánchez:

My husband was an accomplished backpacker, so he taught us survival skills.

Victoria Sánchez:

Yes.

Victoria Sánchez:

And more than that.

Victoria Sánchez:

Yes, he did.

Victoria Sánchez:

So then That night, we had a marvelous as we did on all our backpacking trips of which we had many.

Victoria Sánchez:

We sang around the campfire, my husband played the harmonica and we toasted marshmallows and so on.

Victoria Sánchez:

And unfortunately the oldest daughter ran into one of the support poles of one of the tents.

Victoria Sánchez:

It was aluminum, so it easily bent.

Victoria Sánchez:

And that night we were asleep.

Victoria Sánchez:

And the, we had a storm, the storm thunder reverberated throughout that Canyon, the thunder was loud.

Victoria Sánchez:

The hail was even more devastating as it piled up on the tops of the tent.

Victoria Sánchez:

So wasn't too long when the, our tent flat opened and the other three came

Victoria Sánchez:

in because their tent had collapsed

Victoria Sánchez:

and was a wash.

Victoria Sánchez:

So we were seven people in a three man tent.

Victoria Sánchez:

In the morning it was beautiful.

Victoria Sánchez:

The storm was over.

Victoria Sánchez:

The people who had horses, their horses were gone, even though they were tethered,

Victoria Sánchez:

they'd taken off or probably back.

Victoria Sánchez:

They knew the way home to their corral, but they were gone.

Victoria Sánchez:

My husband and my son got all the

Victoria Sánchez:

squaw wood.

Victoria Sánchez:

For those that don't know what squaw wood is squaw wood is the lowest branches of dead trees

Victoria Sánchez:

or even live trees, but the branches are dead.

Victoria Sánchez:

And that wood, you can generally use to make a fire that's called squaw wood

Victoria Sánchez:

because Indian squaw could easily reach it.

Victoria Sánchez:

So my husband made a fire and as we were sitting around the fire enjoying our hot cocoa

Victoria Sánchez:

and oatmeal, And so on a stranger came up.

Victoria Sánchez:

A woman and she was very cold.

Victoria Sánchez:

We believe she had hypothermia.

Victoria Sánchez:

She was from San Francisco.

Victoria Sánchez:

She had no shelter.

Victoria Sánchez:

So we'd applied her with coffee and hot things.

Victoria Sánchez:

And we had a black tarp that we'd used for our seven backpacks to cover them.

Victoria Sánchez:

We gave her the tarp so that she could have a little shelter, some kind of blind of some stuff.

Victoria Sánchez:

And then we gave her a frying pan and our son went out to the Lake and caught some fish for her.

Victoria Sánchez:

And then we left about one, 1:00 PM in the afternoon.

Victoria Sánchez:

So that was our adventure in the, in the Pecos..

Victoria Sánchez:

We saw so many things on our backpacking trips.

Victoria Sánchez:

One time we took, Oh, several times we took our dog with us and she always scared off the deer.

Victoria Sánchez:

When the kids took off on their exploratory trips from the base camp we saw lots of things.

Victoria Sánchez:

Went lots of places.

Victoria Sánchez:

We backpacked in the,

Catherine:

We didn't just see a lot of things we also learned.

Catherine:

Oh yeah.

Catherine:

So you would gather us around if there were if you found a certain sapling or,

Catherine:

or a flower, especially the lady orchids.

Catherine:

If we found those and you would explain them and, and kind of go through and you don't

Catherine:

pick the wild flowers, because once you pick them, that's it, they don't come back.

Victoria Sánchez:

And we used to tease the youngest because she was closer to the

Victoria Sánchez:

ground and we said, that's how come she could always find the fairy slipper orchids first.

Victoria Sánchez:

But yes, I always had a trail book with me and I always had a flower book.

Catherine:

And we learned about the geology, the geology.

Victoria Sánchez:

Yes.

Victoria Sánchez:

And my husband taught them about the stars at night, out in the mountains where there are

Victoria Sánchez:

no lights to obscure or illuminate your view.

Victoria Sánchez:

You can look up and see the stars and he taught them the stories of the constellations.

Victoria Sánchez:

One of the greatest things for me, he had been a navigator in the air force and learned how to navigate

Victoria Sánchez:

by the stars and just beautiful, beautiful adventures.

Victoria Sánchez:

So enough of the backpacking let's get back to some, maybe some of the other family's stories.

Victoria Sánchez:

The kids all took.

Victoria Sánchez:

Well, the the girls took dancing lessons and they started at three, went to their recitals and so on.

Victoria Sánchez:

And then when they started school, they did didn't last too long.

Victoria Sánchez:

Maybe second grade.

Victoria Sánchez:

Later on three of the daughters wanted further lessons.

Victoria Sánchez:

So one took tap and the other two took jazz and Catherine to this day takes dancing

Victoria Sánchez:

lessons and she's proficient in all of the.

Victoria Sánchez:

What do you call them the different types of dance?

Victoria Sánchez:

I guess I would say my favorites are with her are the tap and the ballet, a joy to watch.

Victoria Sánchez:

And they took piano lessons.

Victoria Sánchez:

All five, two of the children wanted to take guitar lessons.

Victoria Sánchez:

So indeed they took guitar lessons.

Victoria Sánchez:

They were in boy Scouts.

Victoria Sánchez:

Our son was an Eagle scout.

Victoria Sánchez:

Girls were in girl Scouts.

Victoria Sánchez:

I was a girl scout leader, like 12 years with four daughters.

Victoria Sánchez:

But I think one of the things just to tell you what our family was close and

Victoria Sánchez:

supported each other in all the endeavors.

Victoria Sánchez:

Catherine was a Cadet Girl Scout.

Victoria Sánchez:

They wanted to go on a backpacking trip in thePecos and they couldn't get chaperones.

Victoria Sánchez:

So she persuaded her older brother to, please, please, please be a chaperone.

Victoria Sánchez:

And you know what he said?

Victoria Sánchez:

Yes, he would be.

Victoria Sánchez:

And he was a chaperone and they had a wonderful backpacking trip.

Victoria Sánchez:

I think it was three or four days.

Victoria Sánchez:

Wasn't it?

Catherine:

It was.

Catherine:

And the girls, there were some that were older than I was by.

Catherine:

Maybe a year or two or two, and having Robert there, it was like, perfect

Catherine:

because they listened to everything.

Catherine:

He said they just wanted to be right by him.

Catherine:

And does he have a girlfriend?

Catherine:

Yeah.

Catherine:

Oh my gosh.

Victoria Sánchez:

So yeah, I forgot to say that.

Victoria Sánchez:

You met the bus all the way into college when your dad came home.

Victoria Sánchez:

The kids would go down to meet dad at the bus stop, even in college.

Catherine:

So well, we had the dog to walk, which was always nice.

Catherine:

She liked to go down there too, but it was nice to greet dad at the bus all the time.

Catherine:

He was always happy to see us.

Catherine:

It was fun.

Victoria Sánchez:

The times that I liked the best was Christmas.

Victoria Sánchez:

I will tell you the kids were angels.

Victoria Sánchez:

I loved Christmas.

Victoria Sánchez:

I loved the Christmas season because we had different activities.

Victoria Sánchez:

We had Kris Kindle where they drew names and they didn't know which name they drew until Christmas Eve.

Victoria Sánchez:

And then they would be so nice to their Kris Kindle.

Victoria Sánchez:

And then I had the custom of putting little straws out.

Victoria Sánchez:

And if they did a good deed, they could put it in the manger for the baby Jesus.

Victoria Sánchez:

They had their own little cribs set in the den.

Victoria Sánchez:

And then the other thing we had was the Advent Wreath.

Victoria Sánchez:

There was seven of us.

Victoria Sánchez:

So we each had a day and you could say whatever prayers you want, whatever we wanted to do for the advent

Victoria Sánchez:

wreath and the family together made the advent wreath.

Victoria Sánchez:

We suspended it in our front hallway.

Victoria Sánchez:

And that meant that sometimes they forgot to duck.

Victoria Sánchez:

Then it, it was on the floor and we had to repair it, but that didn't matter.

Victoria Sánchez:

It was something that we did together and it was a beautiful time.

Victoria Sánchez:

One of the things the kids did they had a little bowl, they kept it under the the older girls double

Victoria Sánchez:

dresser, and then they would put money in there throughout the year from their allowance or whatever,

Victoria Sánchez:

they didn't ask each other how much each one put in.

Victoria Sánchez:

They never bothered.

Victoria Sánchez:

When it came time to do Christmas shopping, they would go in and count it all together

Victoria Sánchez:

to see how much, and then they would persuade mom to take them to the shopping center.

Victoria Sánchez:

And I would do that.

Victoria Sánchez:

Might have to sit outside and they went into the sporting goods store and they would go in

Victoria Sánchez:

there and pick out some flies for their dad.

Victoria Sánchez:

And they were very particular.

Victoria Sánchez:

I don't know how they pick them out, but they did.

Victoria Sánchez:

But the fellow who waited on them was so entranced that he, he would give him a fly box which was more

Victoria Sánchez:

expensive than the flies, and he would count out their money and then he would gift wrap it for them.

Victoria Sánchez:

It was beautiful.

Victoria Sánchez:

And then they persuaded their dad to do the Christmas shopping for me in the same kind of thing.

Victoria Sánchez:

But those were beautiful, beautiful memories because it kept the family together.

Victoria Sánchez:

Right now it's May.

Victoria Sánchez:

We celebrate mother's day in May and w when the kids were growing up, we always had a shrine to

Victoria Sánchez:

Mary and the kids could design it and they would have flowers and we'd pray the rosary and so on.

Victoria Sánchez:

So those are beautiful family customs that we had growing up.

Victoria Sánchez:

We were honored by the children by being New Mexico parents of the year

Victoria Sánchez:

in 2001.

Catherine:

Wow.

Catherine:

That was a long time ago.

Victoria Sánchez:

In your way of thinking.

Victoria Sánchez:

In my way, it was only yesterday.

Victoria Sánchez:

It was only yesterday that you were born.

Victoria Sánchez:

And my husband and I were married 61 years when he died.

Victoria Sánchez:

Yes.

Victoria Sánchez:

And indeed and the family also got, we were the first family to get the New Mexico philanthropy

Victoria Sánchez:

award because always we told the kids that

Victoria Sánchez:

our, our philosophy was you were put on this earth for one thing- to love God, to serve Him and

Victoria Sánchez:

to be happy with Him in Heaven and, and in, so doing, you would make the world a better place.

Victoria Sánchez:

And so there are lots of things that we did for, always, we had Christmas baskets, Thanksgiving baskets.

Victoria Sánchez:

And so on.

Victoria Sánchez:

My husband did most the delivery of the Christmas baskets later assisted by the grandkids and the

Victoria Sánchez:

kids, but always to remember "there, but for the grace of God go, I", I had a lot of those things.

Victoria Sánchez:

Yes.

Victoria Sánchez:

Let me look at this.

Victoria Sánchez:

Besides making the world a better place one of the things that I often said to them,

Victoria Sánchez:

as they would say, Oh, this, this happens.

Victoria Sánchez:

And this kid can do that.

Victoria Sánchez:

No.

Victoria Sánchez:

To thine own self be true.

Victoria Sánchez:

Be the very best that you can be.

Victoria Sánchez:

You don't follow the crowd, you do the right thing and you be the best you can be.

Victoria Sánchez:

And I also said, and I set it often, that I will pass this way, but once, and if there is

Victoria Sánchez:

some good that I can do, then let me do it.

Victoria Sánchez:

And then I had embroidered in the bathroom that they could look at every day, a sampler.

Victoria Sánchez:

And what did that say, Catherine?

Victoria Sánchez:

Oh mom.

Victoria Sánchez:

Which one was it?

Victoria Sánchez:

Cause you had a couple of them.

Victoria Sánchez:

Well, it was, it was the one that I put right above the camode one.

Victoria Sánchez:

" Remember yesterday, ponder tomorrows, but live for today."

Victoria Sánchez:

So I said, I said that tomorrow may never come.

Victoria Sánchez:

You, you will never know, but tomorrow might never come.

Victoria Sánchez:

So you live for today and you make it the very best day.

Victoria Sánchez:

And I also said don't ever say anything that's not nice.

Victoria Sánchez:

You can never take back words..

Victoria Sánchez:

So that was something my husband and I lived by.

Victoria Sánchez:

Don't ever say anything because you can't ever take back those words.

Victoria Sánchez:

So live each day to the fullest and be happy and be, be yourself and be the very best that you can be.

Victoria Sánchez:

So, Oh, and I also told the kids when they became teens,

Catherine:

I S no drinking.

Catherine:

Six words, no drinking, no smoking, no nothing,

Victoria Sánchez:

no necking, you you forgot that.

Catherine:

Well, that went in the no nothing by the time Linda and I were of age.

Catherine:

Well, the

Victoria Sánchez:

joy of having an older child and younger children is

Victoria Sánchez:

that they learned that when you say no to the older ones, that you better not

Victoria Sánchez:

ask because the answer is the same.

Victoria Sánchez:

So that those were some of our activities.

Victoria Sánchez:

Growing up we went on vacations.

Victoria Sánchez:

We went to lots of interesting places, the Tetons, the glacier national park to Canada to Banff,

Victoria Sánchez:

hiking, learning, fun, fun, fun, fun things.

Victoria Sánchez:

And Washington DC, Catalina Island Disneyland.

Victoria Sánchez:

Oh, once we camped we had a tent trailer, then we camped in San Diego on Shelter Island I think it was.

Victoria Sánchez:

And the, the camping spot was right on the Bay.

Victoria Sánchez:

And at 7:00 AM, we were awakened by, Oh, the girls shouting to their brother to stop.

Victoria Sánchez:

He was trying to catch an octopus.

Victoria Sánchez:

It was orange.

Victoria Sánchez:

We didn't know anything about it and it shot its ink.

Victoria Sánchez:

So yeah, it w it was fun camping too.

Victoria Sánchez:

Oh, we went to Mexico over, over Christmas break.

Victoria Sánchez:

The girls, the older girls were in high school and we went to San Carlos Bay and we

Victoria Sánchez:

camped right across from the ocean there.

Victoria Sánchez:

The Bay.

Victoria Sánchez:

And we were the only tent trailer in the whole campground.

Victoria Sánchez:

The rest had these very lovely looking trailers.

Catherine:

Ours was lovely.

Catherine:

We liked it.

Catherine:

It fit all of us.

Victoria Sánchez:

And all of that again it was very early in the morning and who...

Catherine:

I got up at like three thirty in the morning.

Catherine:

Yeah.

Catherine:

And, but I had asked dad the night before if I could go down, because that was the

Catherine:

only place at when the sun was just coming up to see the dolphins and the sea lions.

Catherine:

Wildlife have to go see it.

Catherine:

So I got up and dad said I could the night before, but I don't think he really thought I was going to do it.

Victoria Sánchez:

Oh yes he did.

Victoria Sánchez:

But he didn't think it was going to be that early

Catherine:

well, so I got up at 3:30am and woke Linda, Linda didn't want to go.

Catherine:

And then I left and crossed the highway and it was dark.

Catherine:

I took a flashlight and I went down there.

Catherine:

But guess what I saw, as soon as that sun was coming up.

Catherine:

Sea lions and they were all over the place.

Catherine:

And then as that sun come up, they came up, they went into the ocean.

Catherine:

I would've missed it.

Victoria Sánchez:

Well, you had, you had a great adventure.

Catherine:

I did.

Catherine:

And truly, and then dad came to get me.

Victoria Sánchez:

Yes.

Victoria Sánchez:

And truly our camping and our, our traveling back to visit the grandparents

Victoria Sánchez:

were always filled with adventures wherever we went, because we made things happen.

Victoria Sánchez:

But I want to close because that's enough of that.

Victoria Sánchez:

But I did make all of their clothes, their prom dresses, their wedding dresses.

Victoria Sánchez:

And since Catherine is here, when we were doing her wedding dress, she said

Victoria Sánchez:

she didn't want just a chapel train.

Victoria Sánchez:

She wanted a little bigger train.

Victoria Sánchez:

So she got it.

Victoria Sánchez:

But the most fun of that was designing her veil together.

Victoria Sánchez:

We had a lot of fun.

Victoria Sánchez:

I did.

Victoria Sánchez:

I made all the, the The bridesmaid dresses as well as the maid of honor for all of the girls weddings.

Victoria Sánchez:

And I will tell you a funny story.

Victoria Sánchez:

It's funny.

Victoria Sánchez:

When we look back when we had the, when the oldest daughter was married, we purchased a cake and the kids

Victoria Sánchez:

said, mom, that cake doesn't taste as good as yours do.

Victoria Sánchez:

So for the second daughter, I made a five tier wedding cake, as well as satellite cakes.

Victoria Sánchez:

And we were at the reception enjoying it.

Victoria Sánchez:

And all of a sudden, the leaning tower of) the, wait staff came over and

Victoria Sánchez:

said, you might want to cut the cake.

Victoria Sánchez:

It's kind of leaning.

Victoria Sánchez:

So they cut the cake.

Victoria Sánchez:

So that was the story of the, the leaning tower.

Victoria Sánchez:

So what can you think of anything that you want to add?

Catherine:

I think what I would add is being that it's mother's day that my mother has taught us and of course

Catherine:

my dad has, they brought us up of course, with a lot of education that helped each and every one of us be good,

Catherine:

critical thinkers with what it is that we are faced with, whether it be what whatever the situation might

Catherine:

be, whether it be with humans or in the environment.

Catherine:

Or an issue.

Catherine:

And I think that that definitely being able to critically think has helped each

Catherine:

and every one of us be a better person.

Catherine:

And I think that that also helps us to understand the perspectives of other

Catherine:

people around us or the community.

Catherine:

And that was what dad wanted to be sure was something that we did take into account.

Victoria Sánchez:

And that's why we got the philanthropy award because all of

Victoria Sánchez:

the children and grandchildren, but I want to conclude with one last story.

Victoria Sánchez:

Our oldest daughter's husband went in for a surgery for a simple bypass, double bypass.

Victoria Sánchez:

The doctor said, Oh, everything is fine.

Victoria Sánchez:

When he came out, well, everything wasn't fine because a couple hours later he lapsed

Victoria Sánchez:

into unconsciousness and was that way

Victoria Sánchez:

for two months, two and a half, two months.

Victoria Sánchez:

And our daughter was there that was happened to be 90 miles away.

Victoria Sánchez:

He was at the what do you call it?

Victoria Sánchez:

The Coeur d'Alene regional center, medical center, and 90 miles away from their home.

Victoria Sánchez:

And our daughter is the assistant provost at Washington state university.

Victoria Sánchez:

And although she used her laptop or whatever, to communicate with their staff, two months

Victoria Sánchez:

is a long time to be away from the office.

Victoria Sánchez:

So her sisters, the first one was Catherine said she would go up and help.

Victoria Sánchez:

And I said to daughter1, I called her every day.

Victoria Sánchez:

Day at noon.

Victoria Sánchez:

And at night, at noon, after he had seen, she had seen his team of doctors.

Victoria Sánchez:

He had a nurse just for him.

Victoria Sánchez:

He was unconscious and yet a nurse just for him.

Victoria Sánchez:

So I called twice a day first to find out after the team.

Victoria Sánchez:

And then at night when she left, then I said to her, you must not go , you have to go back to your office.

Victoria Sánchez:

You may not go to the hospital.

Victoria Sánchez:

Those are the conditions.

Victoria Sánchez:

And your sisters are coming up.

Victoria Sánchez:

So Catherine came first and she stayed a week.

Victoria Sánchez:

And was there all day early in the morning until well at night and Glen had, he was awake by that

Victoria Sánchez:

time, but not able to he could sort of walk.

Victoria Sánchez:

He was, had tubes in every place that you wouldn't imagine.

Victoria Sánchez:

So then she left on Saturday and the next sister came up and she was there a week.

Victoria Sánchez:

And then the the last sister came up with her husband and you know, what he woke up then.

Victoria Sánchez:

And I'm happy to say that today which is three years later, three and a half he is doing well.

Catherine:

He didn't wake up when they were there.

Catherine:

He was released.

Victoria Sánchez:

He, yes, he was really released and went to, into rehab and so on.

Victoria Sánchez:

But he is doing beautifully well, and he's back to doing his woodworking and yard work and enjoying life.

Victoria Sánchez:

And what a, what a joy that was.

Victoria Sánchez:

But he had a prayer circle back at his parish.

Victoria Sánchez:

He had everyone praying and the power of prayer can not be underestimated.

Victoria Sánchez:

Because truly he died twice when he was in the hospital there.

Victoria Sánchez:

So we have been blessed with many blessings and we are very proud of our children and

Victoria Sánchez:

grandchildren for what they have managed to, to be involved with their community, to be

Victoria Sánchez:

real, real people, dedicated faith, loving.

Victoria Sánchez:

And as a family, very, very close.

Victoria Sánchez:

And we're going to celebrate mother's day tonight.

Victoria Sánchez:

We're the family that's here in Albuquerque will be at a barbecue at Catherine's house

Victoria Sánchez:

and the others will come and it's joy...

Victoria Sánchez:

Family celebrations are always joyful and all the years, my husband and I had Christmas,

Victoria Sánchez:

always at our home as well as Easter.

Victoria Sánchez:

We had Easter egg hunts and to this day Yes.

Victoria Sánchez:

Even at their age.

Victoria Sánchez:

And I hate to tell you, you can tell we we would have been married let's see this

Victoria Sánchez:

year would have been 66 years, right?

Victoria Sánchez:

Yes.

Victoria Sánchez:

So you know that the kids still like the Easter egg , imagine that, and with that conclusion, I, I hope

Victoria Sánchez:

that all your families will be well happy and blessed.

Catherine:

Mom, thank you so much for sharing the positive imprints that you've made, each of my

Catherine:

siblings, whom we are- coming from you and dad.

Catherine:

And of course our nieces and nephews.

Catherine:

Well, thank you mom.

Catherine:

Happy mother's day.

Victoria Sánchez:

Well, thank you, dear.

Catherine:

So, well from both of us here at your positive imprint, we wish all of you,

Catherine:

as mom said in the beginning happy mother's day, wherever you are in the world and

Victoria Sánchez:

love and value each member of your family.

Catherine:

Thank you.

Catherine:

Your positive imprint.

2 Comments

  1. Terry T on 05/10/2021 at 9:24 PM

    Your mom is a very special person. She’s a great mother but she is also a wonderful role model for all moms. I must admit I was envious of your mom and dad’s beautiful relationship with each other and their marvelous demonstrations of their love of Jesus through all of their helping others events. Thanks for sharing your mom and her beautiful thoughts with us.

    • Catherine on 05/19/2021 at 3:06 PM

      Terry, thank you for your kind words. I will share them with Mom.

Leave a Comment