Part 7: "Behind all your stories is always your mother's story"

“But there's a story behind everything. How a picture got on a wall. How a scar got on your face. Sometimes the stories are simple, and sometimes they are hard and heartbreaking. But behind all your stories is always your mother's story, because hers is where yours begin.”
~Mitch Albom, For One More Day

This particular series of photos does not come to you from as clear a trade as the other series of photos have. It might be that this short and sweet set of photos is not the result of a trade, but rather an act of appreciation and gratitude I have for two very important women in my life. My mom, Elenita Cabrera, and my New York "mom", Doreen Henry, are two of the most inspiring women I've ever known. I have come to know myself because I have, more than ever, asked questions of them.

If Elenita Cabrera is the woman who brought me to this world, Doreen Henry is the woman who woke me up in New York. This year would have been impossible without the two of them in my life and I am getting emotional simply typing this up because it means that tomorrow, I will say goodbye to my sweet Ms. Doreen. Thank you for treating me like a daughter here in New York--everything from cooking dinners for me, taking me to Thanksgiving, warning me when there was rain. I love you.