Today's post is in honor of my, as we Hispanics would say, cousin and comadre's birthday, which was yesterday. Comadre, refers to your son/daughter's godmother. (I tried looking for the English translation of this word and it seems to be non-existent in the English language. I guess in English it's just simply your child's godmother.)
Choosing a godmother for my daughter was one of the most difficult things I've had to do as a mother so far (I know there will be far more difficult decisions to make in the future). How do you trust that the person you choose will take the role seriously? How do you trust that this person will do everything to maintain a good and close relationship with your child? How do you trust that this person will be there through the good and the bad times? All these questions crossed my mind for days before my daughter's baptism. I wanted to be sure that the person I gave this position to was someone that really shared a bond with my daughter and that I could trust completely. I didn't think about the money, the gifts, or any of those materialistic things that may come with having a godparent. The most important thing to me was giving my daughter the opportunity to have what I didn't have and isn't that exactly what our goal is as mothers?...To give our children everything we never had.
As I weighed my options on people I could consider for the role, I thought about who could really provide my daughter with all those things a godmother is supposed to give their god child. Someone who could be a role model to her. Someone who I can trust to give her the best advice whenever I am not around. Someone who can guide her in the right path. Someone who could be her best friend and teach her all the things I cannot. I also knew that the person I chose had to be someone that I already had a good relationship with.
To be honest, I did not choose my comadre right away. I first chose someone else which ended up not working out. The person I had first chosen gradually grew apart from me and not keeping in touch as we used to because of the natural course of life. However, as I always say, everything happens for a reason and God has his plan written for each of us. Although at first I was skeptical about choosing my cousin as my daughter's godmother, I later realized that she was the best choice I could have made!
Without going too in-depth about her whole life story, she has been in my life since I can remember. Although we were raised thousands of miles away from each other (she was raised in the Dominican Republic), it's almost like we were raised together because we would spend every Summer together here in NY. My sisters and I have always considered her more like another sister rather than a cousin. She has been there in all the most important and life changing moments of my life.
Not only do we share a special relationship, but she has accomplished so many great things in her own life and continues to work towards becoming an asset to this country. With a Bachelor's degree in psychology, she moved to NYC all on her own determined to get a Master's and pursue a successful career. She is hardworking, head-strong, always positive, sweet, and the most caring person ever.
I am beyond happy and grateful for the final decision I made in selecting her as my daughter's godmother.
*A few tips for any moms out there stressing out over this just as I was:
1. Make sure the person is someone you know will without a doubt be in your life FOREVER!
2. The person should be someone you want your child to look up to as their role model.
3. The person should be someone you trust COMPLETELY and are so comfortable with, to the point you can talk about EVERYTHING!
4. The person should be someone you are in constant communication with and always in touch with.
5. The person should be someone you know will always be there for child no matter what to guide, protect, and take care of whether you are around or not.
So a very, very, HAPPIEST OF BIRTHDAYS to my daughter's godmother. We are so happy to have you in our lives. God has a crazy way of showing us that he has a bigger plan already set up for us and sometimes it can be hard for us to understand or accept it. As the days go by and I become more experienced with life, I have learned to trust his path entirely...
...Sew This is Life!
