Clockwise from top left: Robert C. Baca, Frances R. Baca, Janis Baca, and Cynthia Baca. The day of Janis' first holy communion.My mom would have been 75 years old yesterday. Here are a few facts about her:
* Born Frances Rosaline Baca on 1 August 1934 in Socorro, New Mexico
* Married Robert C. Baca on 27 October 1954 at the San Miguel Parish, Socorro, New Mexico
* Had three children:
1.) Janis Marie Baca, born 23 March 1956, married Donn Schwartzenberg, had two children, one grandchild. Was killed in a car accident 9 December 2008 in the Alamo Reservation, New Mexico.
2.) Cynthia Baca, born 1958, married to Sam Gonzales, has three children, expecting two grandchildren in March 2010.
3.) Robert J. C. Baca, born 1968, married to Nancy Douglas. He has no children of his own. His wife has one child through a previous marriage.
There's much that I can say about mom, but let me try to say it in a few words.
Mom was a very loving and caring person. She was always taking care of her family. During the last years of my mom's life, my grandmother began showing signs of Alzheimers, my dad's health was getting worse (he died only a few months after my mother), and I was going through a divorce. She was there for us - and for many others. She always seemed to have unlimited energy.
My mom always said that she knew when something was wrong with one of her children. She said that if any of us were going through tough times, the backing of our photos on the wall would start falling out of the frame. Of course, I think her uncanny predictions had more to do with the fact that we were always having problems and the backings were continuously falling out.
I have a painting in my kitchen that reminds me of her. It shows a woman peeling a tortilla from a burner with her bare hand. I never understood how my mom could do the same thing without burning her hands.
Just now I thought I smelled her beans cooking on the stove. Man, I'm hungry.
Mom wasn't just a homemaker. She also worked at various businesses throughout her life. I remember her working at her mother's fabric store and my dad's accounting business. She taught Sunday school class for a short while (many of my classmates still remember her fondly.) She hated politics, but she was always helping out my father whenever he ran for any type office, whether it was Grand Knight at the local Knights of Columbus, or board member of the Socorro Electric Co-Op Board.
She tried to do her own business, too. She loved to do crafts, and so she tried to sell a few of them on the side. She never made much money, but I believe she had a lot of fun doing it.
Speaking of crafts, I remember every Christmas she was always making gifts. Whether it was crochet, pillows, or stuffed animals, she was spent all December making them. She would also bake cookies and cakes. Her favorite concoction was - excuse my Spanglish -"kake de jamon", which, although it roughly translates to "pig cake" or "ham cake", was really a chocolate bread made with lard. Okay, it wasn't very healthy, but, man, was it gooooooood!
So that was a brief description of my mom. I know it doesn't do her justice, but I wrote it quickly in order to get it out in this post. I love you mom and miss you.
