The Sacrifices of Family Members

     Keeping the family close when they are apart is definitely a difficult task. Unfortunately, there are so many things that can drive families apart or distance them. Sometimes parents have to make sacrifices in order to give their children a better opportunity at life. When these changes take place, the family may have to adjust and transition to a new home environment. Thus, at times family roles and responsibilities  may shift. 

    In my mom's family, they experienced a drastic change that impacted their family and their futures as individuals. When my mom was about 5 years old, she lived in El Salvador with her parents, grandparents, and four siblings. Growing up in their small village, there were a lot of wars going on and even their own home felt unsafe a lot of the time. Many nights, she remembers hiding under her bed with her siblings for protection hoping that the shootings taking place just outside their house would not get to them as her dad sealed the doors and windows with bars. My grandparents did not want to have their children continue growing up this way. They loved their country but they knew that if they truly wanted their kids to succeed then they would have to do whatever it takes to make that happen. 

    My grandparents then decided to have the family move to America, the land of promise and opportunity. They worked very hard to get green cards and were able to both evacuate as refugees. In the beginning of the process, only my grandparents were able to cross legally into the United States. They left their kids with my great grandparents and moved to the US in attempts to establish a life and home there, so that their kids could eventually join them. It was an arduous journey but they were able to accomplish their goal and bring my mom and her siblings into the US with them as refugees. 

    In the process of my grandparents working towards their goal, they lived far away from my mom and her siblings and the family dynamic changed. My aunt, being the eldest daughter, became responsible for the rest of her siblings, and even grandparents, and had to take on the maternal role and caretaker of the family. She took on a copious amount of responsibilities and had to change her lifestyle to adjust to taking care of the whole family. As a result, my mom became extremely close to her sister and treated her more like a mom. Once the whole family was reunited in America, it was difficult for my mom to process that my aunt was not really her mom. The relationship between my grandparents and my mom became strained as they missed out on some of her developmental stages of childhood. Finally being able to reconnect was definitely a process that took years. 

    Although, it was challenging for my mom to be separated from her parents and become distanced from them, she will always cherish the sacrifices they made to give her a better opportunity. The sacrifices they made even influenced future generations that they probably were not even thinking about when they decided to make the move. I am so grateful that they were brave enough to immigrate to the United States because it impacted my life so much as well. Thanks to them I was able to be born a US citizen and become the first in my family to attend a University. Family changes can be difficult but they are so worth it when they impact a family in a positive way.