Un Dia a la Vez

One day is equal to twenty four hours, 1,440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In a given day there are possibilities of good and bad that can happen. Within that day I cannot control either experiences, I am living “Un dia a la vez” (one day at a time).

Through all my years of growing up in poverty, I found the statement to be proven true. Over the years one moment in life particularly has made me believe and trust it. I was five years old, it was a hot summer day, and my family and I spent it at the park. Though it was beautiful outside, it was not the reason for our outing. We had nowhere to go. We were shunned and rejected by family who didn’t want the responsibility of four extra people in their home. My mom was left to find a solution for the day. As the sun began set and to end the day, reality hit. We played and played to our little hearts content, while my mother watched parents and their children slowly leave. She called us over by name and sat us at the picnic table; she told us we would need to get into the car. We all walked to the car and she kept us in the front seat with her, she hugged us close and tight, she began to sing. “Un di a la vez mi cristo es todo que pedo de ti, enseniame hoy para vivir un dia a la vez” (One day at a time sweet Jesus that’s all I’m asking from you, show me the way to do every day what I have to do). Tears were rolling down her face as she cried, we cried with her. We didn’t know what that day had in store for us, but we knew it was just a day, a day that as quickly as it comes it goes and you face it head on.

Every day is an experience, every day is unknown. Whatever the day may bring, I know that I can only take it “un dia a la vez,” this I believe.”