I came to the United States because my husband is citizen here. I am from El Salvador. I left my country almost four years ago. I had mixed feelings because I was happy to start a new life with my daughter and my husband, but I was sad to leave my family in my country. I miss them every day, especially my mother so much. I remember her every day. Many things make me remember her. One day when I went to the Tenement Museum with my classmates, I saw one special thing that suddenly brought me many memories of her. It was a sewing machine because my mother has a similar one. Hers is also black and it is the same brand. She had the sewing machine in her room and she told me many stories about that machine. Always when I went to kiss her in the morning it was the first thing that I saw in her room. She loved it because her mother gave it to her when she was twelve years old. She learned to use it when she was young. She made a lot of clothes for my siblings and me when we were children. She made a special outfit for my daughter as soon as she was born. To me, this sewing machine is something that symbolizes my mother’s love for me and my daughter.

– Haydee Espinola Ramirez

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant