Growing up in Mexico my mom would move back and forth between the city and the ranch. The ranch and the city were about a two hour drive away from each other but luckily my moms grandparents lived in between them and the ranch. My mom loved the ranch but leaving her friends in the city for an extended period of time was tough on her and her siblings growing up. Doing their best to comfort my mother, her grandfather told her to sit on the hammock across from him and would give her candy her grandma made earlier that day. My great grandparents may not have realized it but the comfort the hammock brought to my mother helped her get through a lot of obstacles through her life, it was her place to reflect. After I was born in America, my mom wanted to take me back to Mexico. When we went on our trip back to meet my family the first place we went was my great grandparents house. Not knowing how fragile the hammock was, I would play and swing on it as soon as we arrived there because my mom would tell me how much she loved it. Even though it was beat up, old and raggedy It held strong. My great grandfather did not know me too well but he still showed love to me by giving me candy on the hammock like he did to my mom. He would have heart to heart talks with me while we sat on the hammock. He would tell me stories about things he regretted and things he wished he did differently. When I was little I took these things lightly but kept it in the back of my mind but now I think he was clearing his conscience and wanted to prevent me from making the same mistakes he did

– Josh Spencer

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant