Proud

I am so proud of Maria. We met at 7am this morning (Wed) to be the first people in line for the bank opening at 7.30am. My role was to help Maria with any writing and/or reading she might have to do, and also provide the money to deposit. I had asked Maria if she knew how to write/sign her name, and she didn't. I thought, and was told, that this would not be an issue; Maria could use her thumbprint as her signature. Anyway, we got to the bank and encountered a few obstacles. First, Maria's identification was so old that it was hard to make out the letters of her name. Second, Maria needed to be able to sign her name on a few documents.

Now, Maria has never held a pen let alone tried to write anything before this. I wrote out her name (I shortened it considerably, from Maria Dolores Aspuac Velasquez to Maria Aspuac) and asked her to copy it and practice a few times. She gingerly held the pen, her hand shaking out of nervousness, but after quite a few tries, she was able to write her name legibly enough to suffice. I was/am so proud of her. It must have taken so much courage to write for the very first time, at 50 years old, in a situation where a lot of pressure was being put on her. I feel like a proud mama, even though she is the one that is old enough to be my mother.

The earliest time when both Maria is able to take time off work and when the doctor is available is this coming Tuesday. I set up an appointment. We will also be going to the public hospital where the same doctor works and make inquiries (i.e. wait for a couple of hours before being seen).