To Lucy Bojorquez - my muse and historian, a long-time family friend. To Nancy Twining - my confidant, my muse. To my mother, Merced Yanez, who taught me to be strong, kind, forgiving, and true to myself; my muse throughout my book. Last, but not least, thank you ladies for sharing the stories of your relationships with your mothers.

My mother informed me at a very young age that I asked too many questions for a little girl and that I should be playing with my dolls or outside. l was rather inquisitive during my childhood days. I was fortunate enough to become friends with little girls from different cultures. Along with the different cultures came the different foods, and all the children were bilingual. I was amazed at how the mothers were mostly raising their children alone, as the daddies were overseas or working. There was an Air Force base in Big Spring, Texas, the little town where I was born and raised, being my inquisitive self, I would ask my friends questions about their mom's accents, dress attire, and Kimonos, I ended up loving Japanese food and German food! I also admired all the mothers for their bravery and strength! They were like my mom, were stay-athome mamas and good cooks!