21. A Letter From a Primary Kid

My mother only had a third grade elementary education. Over the last couple of days, that fact has been wondering through my mind repeatedly. It was not invited in, it just came and it doesn't seem to want to leave. I don't understand why it's there and what it wants to tell me, but I do feel like I need to let it out and write about it. Hopefully, by the time I'm done, I will know part of what I'm supposed to learn.

I remember one day needing help with my school homework, so I asked my mom up to what school year she studied. I knew that life was hard in Mexico, where she grew up, and that people there often didn't have the means to get a college education. So, I expected her to say something like 10th or 11th grade, but she said, "I was only able to go to third grade elementary." I was very shocked! It was hard to believe that someone as sure of herself and full of character like my mother could have only had a third grade elementary education. It almost seemed like a complete lie to me. But it wasn't, my mom only had a third grade elementary education.

I really don't know why that story keeps crossing my mind. Am I being told to continue striving to get an education? Or is it something completely unexpected that I'm supposed to learn? I'm sure I'm supposed to continue with school but I feel like there is more to be learned from this.

During my mission, a missionary was sorting and handing out mail one day, and when he saw a letter addressed to me, he said, "Oh, look, Elder Márquez, a kid from your ward's primary wrote you a letter." I got the letter, and it was a letter from my mother. I was a bit unsure about how to react to the experience I had just passed, so instead I just opened the letter and started reading it. As I saw the third grader handwriting, which included several grammar and spelling errors, I realized that I had to focus on the things that mattered in the letter in order to get the message. I knew then that my mothers life was teaching me to focus on the things that mattered. I realized I was very grateful to have a mother with only a third grade education, for she was teaching me one of the smartest things anyone had ever taught me.

Today, during English class, my teacher, Sister Steadman, said that our loved ones can do more for us from the other side of the veil than when they are here with us. Those words really resonated with me because since my mother passed away her and my relationship has become even stronger.

Thank you, Mother, for being that "Primary Kid" in my life.