The 3 Marias: My Ten Pearls of Wisdom

By M. C. T.

The three women I have written about in this book struggled with their life choices, their fears, and limitations due to their circumstances. My pearls of wisdom come from gaining insight and learning from their life experiences and my own. I will simply give you my take on life. I hope that you can find the help you need to navigate your life on your own terms. This book is also about living and dying! Don't get scared. I think you will find it very positive and uplifting!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 29, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452052755

M. C. T.

Mari C. Tirado is a Therapist/Social Worker who lives in Southern California.  "My goal has always been to reach people and help them find resources, and educate them about services and programs available to them."

Book preview

Acknowledgments

These three ladies had a great impact on my life. Their stories have given me new insight into how I view life and how to live a better life. I want to thank all the people in my life that related the information that gave me a better understanding of these three amazing women. I try to imagine myself having had a normal ordinary life, but I could not have had it any other way than my life with these three wonderful women.

To my family and friends, thank you for your love and support throughout the years. To my patients and their families, thank you for everything you have shared with me, and for everything I have learned through our journey together.

To all of you, I hope that this story brings you a deeper understanding on how living life without fear, letting go, and trying to make better choices can help you to make positive changes in your life.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Author’s Note

COMES THE DAWN

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

Introduction

Chapter 1: Maria Lucinda

Chapter 2: Maria Del Carmen

Chapter 3: Maria Dolores

Chapter 4: What have I learned about life and the 3 Marias?

Chapter 5: On a lighter note.

My Way

The 3 Marias:

About the Author

Author’s Note

These are all true stories, but the names have been changed to protect people’s privacy. The stories are a combination of the experiences I actually had with each one of the Marias and also family members’ recollections.

The main characters are:

Maria Lucinda- was my best friend’s 90 y/o mother.

Maria Del Carmen- was my 77 y/o paternal aunt- (who I called Mom, because she raised me).

Maria Dolores- was my 80 y/o biological mother (who I called Mother).

Heather- my best friend.

COMES THE DAWN

And you really do have worth.

And you learn and learn ...

With every goodbye

You learn.

-Virginia Shopstall

 I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

A song written by Joe South, best known as recorded by country singer Lynn Anderson in the late 1970’s.

I beg your pardon,

I never promised you a rose garden.

Along with the sunshine,

There’s gotta be a little rain sometimes.

Introduction

The poem Comes the Dawn and the song I never promised you a Rose Garden kind of sum it up for me. And you learn that you really can endure ... That you really are strong… And you really do have worth. And you learn and learn ... With every goodbye you learn. I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden along with the sunshine, there’s gotta be a little rain sometimes.

If you have lived long enough, you’ve learned that life sucks sometimes! You’ve learned that you will face some heart ache, you will lose someone that you know or love and that your dreams may fall down the way side. After a while you learn not to expect much, and to expect the unexpected. We learn that there are some things that are out of our control, that things might not turn out the way we wanted them to, and that life can take some unexpected turns!

Life can be hard when we let go of our hopes and dreams. We are taught to conform in order to fit in, because we want to be part of something or someone bigger than ourselves, forgetting that life has to be about you/me! The purpose of this book and these stories, is to help you see life in a different way, and to learn to navigate life on your terms, meeting your needs, and striving to have meaning and purpose.

How many times have you said or heard someone say, My life has no meaning, or I don’t know what my purpose is; why am I here? Is it truly about the journey, or is it about the destination? We want to have control of our journey and our final destination, and we spend a lot of time and energy trying to control our circumstances, our fears and our choices, but we end up giving in to society, religion, culture, and peer pressure. We let go of our dreams and passion!

How do we learn to believe in ourselves again? How do we learn to believe that we are strong, that we have worth? How do we learn to fight those early tapes implanted in our heads telling us that