She’s taking care of, and driving, her Daisies
The Daisies, in earlier years.
“My mother is probably the strongest woman I know. I mean, she raised 11 children. So I knew something was going on when she or the neighbor would call me at work sometimes several times a day because she had locked herself out of the house again.
“I took her to the doctor, and they did a few exams. They told me that she had vascular dementia, and it was going to get progressively worse.
“It came to the point where we had to make a decision. We’re not a wealthy family, so putting her in a nursing home was not an option. I finally decided to quit working full-time so that I could stay with her.
Raquel Gonzalez
“My aunts — my mom’s two sisters — lived just two doors down. A couple of years later, one of them broke her hip in a car accident. While she was in the rehabilitation center, the other sister came to live with me and mom. Two weeks later, that sister fell in the middle of the night and broke her hip. She went to the same rehab center, and the sisters were side by side. At that point we made a decision that when they were ready to leave, they would come home and live with me and mom. I’ve had all the Daisies for three years now.
“Since I’m the only sibling that isn’t married and has no children, for years I would take my mom and my two aunts when we would have family get-togethers. Everybody would ask, ‘Are you bringing mom and the aunts?’ And I would say, ‘Yes, I’m driving the Daisies.’ The name just kind of stuck.
“It can get challenging at times with all three. But it’s really not a decision at all. Culturally, it’s what we do. Your elders are very revered. You do what you have to do to take care of them. And they’re happy together. That’s all that really matters.”
— Raquel Gonzalez
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