Sylvia Etelvina Gabriela Rojas Baltra

I'll always remember whenever we arrived home, our mother was there and everything warm and in order. I 've several flashes of her.

At our early childhood (I must had been 3 years), she used to skate at the saloon, a very big living and when the doorbell rang put her finger at her mouth indicating "shiito" and hiding the skater under the sofa. Playing badminton with us at home, helping my sisters with their homework. I remember at my 5 or 6, having opened the fence door of the kINDER they had sent me, walked home and definetily stated I wouldn't go anymore there 'cause mom's classes at the Art Academy (behind the Art Museum and at the Alhambra's House) were much more interesting for me and what was more, I already had learnt to read thanks to Daddy and her that whenever I got sick (several times) they brought me books and by asking and asking, I finally was ready to do so at my 4. She didn't like very much to cook but she did it marvelously. Whatever she did, she did it well. And what's more important that I see some people in a family saying they have to develop themselves leaving part of their children bred up to others, she had to retire from her Art studies due to Daddy's ocuppations and that we used to make or invent all sort of strange games which most of them ended ant the Hospital's emergency though sometimes we used to reach there by ourselves. "There are the Bain girls coming". An amusing thing is that, as the chilean way, when she considered something was really wrong, she just pick up the nearest belt to give us with, so we had to pick Isabel, being still a baby, and climb to the garage's roof our daddy had built to keep his racing cars , motocycles and sailing machines. We remained there until Daddy finally arrived' because we could have a talk with him. We always wanted to know the 'cause of the punishment and at that ages, it was rather insolit. When Daddy enlisted at the Royal Air Force, she felt she should also do something for her country so my grandfather, who was very proud of his social origin, got a heart attack when he saw her wearing an overall of the Civil Defense. She waited for him, married him when he was back, always backed him covering his place at home, and even when he died, she, who had never worked in her life being always served, worked hard to finish breeding us up. Her health couldn't stand anymore. She died 13 years later, just being her 51st., but when the three of us had found and were walking along our own path.