2 posts in 1 day

I got to talk to Nick, my brother, the other day and he requested that I write about Maite, my mama here, and our relationship etc. Although she is the life of any party, she is also a bit of a control freak. For example, this morning I asked kindly to use the iron because I had a shirt that I hadn’t worn yet and I wanted to iron it and I definitely got “the look”. I quickly retracted my request and said, “no no it’s fine…I don’t know why I asked…” She, of course, got the ironing board out and the iron even though I kept insisting I didn’t need it. She was being quite rude about the entire ordeal. I kept thinking about it all morning and was a bit frustrated with her because this is one of many “controlling” events that has taken place while here.

I came home from class for lunch and she was quite chatty and I could tell right away she was trying to make up for being snappy. We sat down to eat and in her prayer she asked God to forgive her for acting the way she did and also asked my forgiveness. I laughed and gave her a hug and it was great. I do find that she often catches herself being controlling in our conversation when she “offers me her council or opinion” on a matter.

When I get frustrated with her, I just place myself in her shoes. She is a single woman, never been married, loves things her way etc. I also try to not take things so personally because I think she only means to be helpful.

Most of the time, however, we laugh and just chat about the happenings of the day. She also likes to tell me the “top-secret” gossip of our plaza and I don’t mind listening. One thing that warms my heart especially is that she will always make sweet comments about me in front of our guests. She likes to talk about how helpful I am around the house and what not. I remember these comments especially on days like today with the iron incident! (smile).