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Sharing Strenght

Motherhood doesn't often happen at the perfect time under the perfect circumstances

Motherhood doesn't often happen at the perfect time under the perfect circumstances. Sometimes challenges can outweigh the joys. But it's those shared struggles that link each generation of mothers to the next.

Angie Amarillas Mortemore has had a long journey from being a teenaged mother forced to leave high school to graduating from Glendale Community College just days after her 53rd birthday this month. But Angie, who plans to earn bachelor's and master's degrees, says the experience has made her more fully appreciate her own mother's strength.

Ramona Amarillas, 72, a native of Glendale, was the glue that held the close-knit family together during tough times. Angie remembers growing up in a one-room home and while others would go to the beach on summer vacation, "we would go to California to work in the fields."

Ramona would sew flour sack dresses for her daughters and always make sure there were tortillas on the table when the kids got home from school. "I don't know how she managed the money, she really stretched it," Angie remembers with admiration. "I guess you never really look at your mom that way until much later."

Angie, who works as a youth case manager for Valle del Sol, has had her own struggles. For most of their lives, Angie raised her four children on her own, supporting them by cleaning hotels, doing clerical work and working as a teacher's aide. Her youngest daughter, Vanessa Mortemore, 19, admits she also never fully appreciated her mom's efforts. "I didn't realize what a struggle it was for her. She worked all the time."

Angie wishes she had made better choices when she was a young mother in a bad relationship. But her oldest daughter, Raquel Perez, who has her own children now, says she learned just as much from her mother's struggles as her triumphs. "She just made a lot of bad choices at the beginning. But it taught me a lot -- to always be there for your kids and to be more involved with them.

"My mom made me a very independent person," Raquel continues. "I'm pretty strong and now she is, too. She's come a long way."

Angie sums it up simply: "You learn on your journey."