Angie Robles, affectionately
called “Nani” or “Mama Angie” by many, was born on February 10, 1925 in Redlands,
CA. When I would ask her about her
adolescence, I could easily deduce that she ran her household. She cooked,
cleaned, ironed, washed, babysat, she did it all, so much so that she had to
drop out of school in her sophomore year. She told me that when my Tot
approached her and asked if he could date her, she told him, “You’re crazy,”
because she was so consumed with her household and in all reality, she didn’t
have the time to date. I deduced from that story that she was about her
business, and in more basic terms, she took her responsibilities very serious
Her house was
always spotless, I can never recall stains on her glass table tops, crumbs on
the counter, or paperwork left out in the living room.
You’d never know
it, being so modest, but her name growing up was “Crazy Legs” because she could
daaaaaance, swing dancing. I took it in high school simply to feel a little bit
of a connection to her, and guess what, them moves ain’t easy.
When I was
younger, she jokingly would always make me choose who I liked more during an
argument, she would say, “Alright Reina, who do you choose? Me or Tata?” I
always chose my Tot for some reason and he would always laugh at my response
and look at her.
She was known as
“Mama Angie” at every hair salon and nail shop. I can remember going into
Yolanda’s shop when I was a little girl and literally, every single person in
the shop would always gasp in excitement and say, “Hi Mama Angie.” She was
almost a local celebrity. Yolanda, her hairdresser shared that she was a
spiritual presence in the shop, she never preached, but she always encouraged
others by saying that God was in control.
Nani taught me,
and all of her grandchildren how to dunk, and no, not in basketball, but pan
dulce into either milk or coffee. As
many of you already know, my Tot loved his sweets, Nani loved hers too. Every
single time I spent the night, I always had dessert after every single dinner
meal. Pan dulce, cookies, donuts, apple pie and ice cream, and one of our
ultimate favorites, a waffle sandwich, with syrup and ice cream in the middle.
She always had Cool Whip in her refrigerator, and sometimes, the Cool Whip
container was used for other things, like jalapenos or beans, that was the
biggest let down.
When we went
places with Tot in the car, Tot could never have the windows down because it
would mess up her hair, and that was always the case, and even my brother and I
knew, when with Nani, windows are up.
She would always
pinch my fingertips, rub my back or my neck and massage my shoulders. That
means a lot coming from a lady whose fingers and hands were stiff due to old
age. She always talked about the importance of making sure our joints were
moving and having good blood circulation. Man, what I would do for those
massages again.
She always prayed
for the hungry and the starving, maybe because she was such a good cook, who
knows, but during our prayer time, she always broke down during that part.
Some of her
favorite things were 7-Up, popping bubble wrap, and tootsie rolls!
We would often
go on walks together when I was a teenager. She walked slowly but I remember
holding hands and it felt nice to take life one step at a time, literally. We
would go to the Food Bowl and she always wore a nice blouse and a skirt, even
to go walking, what a lady.
She had a
scrambled egg for breakfast every morning, and after that, a cup of coffee. And
by every morning, I mean every morning.
I feel like she
trusted me. Granted, times were way different 20 years ago but she always
allowed me to go to the park across the street by myself, she would watch me
from the porch as she watered the lawn. It was liberating, climbing the fence, playing,
and coming back in for a nice, home-cooked meal.
Lastly, one day
we were together and there was a beautiful sunset, pink and purple and blue.
She told me, “Jesus paints that for you every single night.” I took it to
heart, meaning that He only painted it for me. And now that you’re up there, it
means so much more.
I miss you
already Nani.
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