Her name is Graciela, a beautiful name, but everyone calls her Chela. When my daughter married her son she became my “consuegra” and I became hers. It is lovely that the Spanish language has a word for our relationship. It is beautiful that our families — hers in Ecuador, and mine in the United States — have joined together through our children, and now grandchildren. I have always believed that nationality is a mere construct and our most basic identity, and responsibility is as fellow humans with all other humans. We are all family, connected in big and small ways, and my family now has firsthand, personal  knowledge of this.

Chela speaks no English. I speak very little Spanish, but there are threads that bind us to one another. In many ways I think of her as my South American counterpart. She is mami, I am mom; she is abuela, I am grandma. We share a love of sewing and creating from fabric. We share a love of food and cooking. And, of course, we share a love for our family. Our grandchildren will carry both of our dna into the future, where we will be linked, forever, into future generations. 

My life is richer. Our families have welcomed one another into our homes and our lives. One of my great pleasures, when in Ecuador, is going to the market and cooking with Chela. She rules the market! Every vendor greets her by name and offers her a taste of what they are selling that day. She picks carefully and thanks each seller for their beautiful produce. They laugh and thank her in return.  Then we go to her home and cook for a big, hungry family!

 My thoughts about the word “international” are thoughts of family, of threads of connection that connect us to our human family and especially the threads that connect one heart to another.