As the last few days of 2018 come to a close, many will reminisce of memories made while pondering resolutions and goals for the year ahead. As 2018 comes to close for me, I reminisce with a heavy heart the journey I have been on the past seven years.

In February 2011, our little family unit decided to uproot from Los Angeles, trek across the country and call South Georgia/North Florida home. This trek meant leaving behind many relatives in a large Hispanic extended family on the maternal side and a smaller family on my paternal side– including my father, grandparents, and uncle. At that time, my girls were 2 years old and 5 months old. The decision to move was not made in haste and it would take us years to get our feet firmly planted on the East Coast. Late in 2011, my grandfather was diagnosed with prostate cancer and learned it had spread to one of his lungs. Up until his diagnosis he had played tennis, visited the gym regularly, and ate a healthy Mediterranean style diet. Once diagnosed, he had surgery to remove part of his lung and then began chemotherapy. The chemo and cancer took its toll and he passed in May 2012 (He was 81 years old). Continue reading →