Ana shares how her mother’s and grandmother’s actions impacted her motherhood journey.

Growing up in a Mexican household meant our days were filled with more than the scent of fresh tortillas, while Mujer Casos De La Vida Real played on the kitchen TV. My days were filled with love, strength, and unspoken sacrifice. My mother and my Tita were the center of the family, they were the ones who would welcome everyone and would save them from anything, no matter what. They taught me from a very young age that the love of a mother is not defined by who birthed you, but rather who has raised you and given their everything for you.

My mother always showed up for me and gave me everything like the most powerful woman on the planet.

The Lessons She Taught Me Without Even Noticing

My mom taught me so much in life and still does. Her role as a mother extended beyond me; she was always there for everyone, no matter what. She moved mountains and made miracles to give a dream Quiceañera to my cousin, she devoted her early hours of the day to care for my little nieces, she dug holes and painted tall buildings just to earn a paycheck to sustain our needs. She always managed to have our favorite meals, to clean the house, and help at school while still helping my grandmother cared for the whole family, no matter their age or marital status. From her, I learned the act of serving, the beauty of giving, and being kind. She taught me that actions mean a thousand words and that quality can be stronger than quantity.

I built a friendship with my mom that helped navigate through life a little more easily, to learn how to value and respect myself. I grew up watching my mom never give up, always giving her everything despite people’s lack of appreciation for her actions. The many pieces of advice she gave me about not giving up and the common sayings, “no te dejes de nadie” or “nadie tiene porque hacerte menos y hacerte llorar” are still some of the main pieces of advice I keep at heart. I try to navigate life with a serving and warrior heart, but centered on the idea of not allowing anything or anyone to push me down. As a mother now I am guiding my children to the same advice, however, I am showing a different thing that my mom didn’t showed me, I am showing them to walk away from those who do not appreciate and value me and my actions.

Embracing My Role As a Mother

Now, as a mom to three children and a stepmother of one. I find myself learning and growing the same way my mom did, or at least I try. I hear it when I see my daughters praying before going to bed, or when I tell them, “You are strong, wonderful, and no one is better than you; everyone is their own person”. Those small rituals, sayings, and routines that growing up felt so small are now the biggest learning aspects I want to teach my kids.

Sometimes I catch myself doing something exactly as she would, such as drinking my Mexican soda straight from the bottle, or saying “cuando me muera voy a venir a ayudarlos a encontrar todo (when I die I still come to help you guys find everything)”, or gently rubbing my son’s back when he’s had a hard day. And I smile, because I know I’m keeping something sacred alive through my motherhood journey.

My Motherhood Journey

Motherhood, for me, has become the opportunity to honor and also change the past and the future that I have inherited from my mother and my grandmother. She is my motivation, my heart, my soul, and my biggest support. Because of her continuous dedication and love, I can continue following her advice as a mother, but also her encouragement to live my dreams and accomplish my goals, because those are some of the things she didn’t get to do.  

It’s about taking the wisdom my mother gave me and adapting it to meet my kids where they are. It’s about showing up, again and again, with a full heart even on the days when I feel like I have nothing left to give. She’s given me the power and the strength to know that a mother can do anything and everything for her kids.

My mother may not have had the words to explain all she did, but her love was always loud in the life she lived. And now, it’s my turn. I carry her lessons not just in my heart, but in how I mother. Even better yet, I carry her with me, I take her with me, and all the beautiful journeys I embrace in my motherhood journey.

A first-generation college graduate, corporate professional, and now mom of four, Ash reflects on her journey to motherhood

“Are you proud of me?” I asked my dad years ago. “I mean… for going to college and then choosing to stay home?”

“Of course, I am.”

“It’s just… you and Mom gave us that chance.”

“Don’t even worry about that.”

That conversation stuck with me. Because how do you explain the weight of generational progress? The feeling of holding a college degree — hard-won by the sacrifices of grandparents who worked in fields under the sun and parents who did whatever it took to get by — only to decide that your next calling was one not tied to paychecks or promotions?

My dad is the son of Mexican migrant workers. He spent much of his childhood working in the fields, his hands blistered before he was old enough to vote. Later, as a bi-vocational minister, he pastored a church while working long hours at a manufacturing plant. He didn’t finish his seminary associate’s degree until his late 30s — balancing work, ministry, and fatherhood along the way.

My mom also came from a family that saw the fields. She worked as a waitress before I was born, then later found a job at an elementary school — a job she’s held onto for decades. She earned her high school diploma but always wanted more. Still, she poured everything into her children’s future — into my future.

Together, they built a life they never had — one that included college dreams for their kids. And we made good on that dream. My brother, sister, and I all became first-generation college graduates, and we wore that title with pride. My brother and sister took it a step further and earned their Masters degrees at a prestigious university.

But my journey took a turn my degree didn’t prepare me for.

Before becoming a mom, I built a promising career. A young Mexican-American woman in a corporate environment, fluent in two languages, navigating rooms where I was often the only person of color at the table. I was proud of where I came from and how far I’d come — from a family who spent 12-hour days in the sun to a place where I could request a stability ball for an office chair and chat over gourmet food trucks at lunch.

Then came motherhood.

My path into motherhood wasn’t easy. I experienced three miscarriages before our first child was born, and another between babies two and three. Those losses broke me in quiet ways, but they also reshaped my faith, my strength, and my purpose. When I finally held my first baby, I held not just a child, but a victory.

I eventually made the choice to step away from the traditional career I’d worked so hard to build. I didn’t make that choice lightly. I battled guilt — asking myself if I was squandering the opportunities my parents and grandparents had worked so hard for. Less than 25% of Latinx Americans aged 25 to 64 had a two-year college degree or higher in 2016. I was part of a small but growing number — and I was leaving the boardroom to raise babies.

Would my parents be disappointed? Would they be proud of the mom I was becoming?

Since then, everything has changed.

I’m now a mom of four daughters. I’ve survived postpartum depression three times. I’ve survived a postpartum hemorrhage that nearly took my life. And in the thick of it all, I built Latina Mom Collective, a business rooted in my culture and my calling.

I’ve found my way in the messy middle — balancing client calls with classroom snack duty, writing strategies one moment and teaching my girls how to make fresh tortillas the next. I’m not choosing between motherhood and ambition — I’m redefining both.

And through it all, I know now that I am honoring my parents’ legacy. Not just with a degree or a career, but with a life that reflects their sacrifices, their values, and their dreams.

I’m raising four strong, compassionate, and culturally-rooted girls who know where they come from — and believe they can go anywhere.

I may not bring home a lavish paycheck, but I bring love, history, and power into our home every day.

I am a proud, college-educated Latina mother.

And that is more than enough.

From the outside perspective, you’d see us as your common Mexican-American familia, but what doesn’t show is the little but meaningful things that we have managed to embrace and challenge to make a family of our own. The balance between the two cultures with the stigmas and expectations that come with each of them is truly an adventure to navigate. This means our three boys around the house experience things differently from what their dad lived through in his childhood.

They know feelings are okay, and crying is acceptable and necessary. Porque aquí los hombres si lloran and are allowed to go through a range of emotions to make them kind and emotionally intelligent adults.

They have shores around the house because we all live in it and take care of our casita.

They help with cooking because they enjoy it and do it since they are little.

I call them beautiful all the time because for me ellos son lo mas hermoso que la vida me ha dado.

And we don’t stop in our household. I call my nieces strong, smart, and brave every chance I get. They are pretty, but they are so much more than their appearance.

We respect when a little one says no to a kiss or hug, they have a voice and can choose how and when to receive love.

Whether it is a small act of resistance or a new approach to raising our kids, we’re making strides to apply our lessons. Because we know our parents did as best as they could with what they had, it doesn’t mean we have to keep traditions that we know don’t do anyone good.

There are so many other ways to embrace nuestra cultura. And there is a liberation that comes from opening up to new and improved traditions that respect every individual. Find yours mija.