If Natalie Morales had to describe her mom in just one word, she would pick: survivor. That's because her mom, Penelope Morales had a tough childhood. "Her mother wasn't ready to be a mom and gave her up to her grandmother," says Natalie. "I think she often felt in life like she wasn't wanted and wasn't loved."
Penelope Morales put herself through college and it was there that she met Natalie's dad, who was serving in the army. They fell in love and married, and her life as a military mom of three children became a great adventure. "She basically raised us moving from place to place. I was born in India, but we lived in Panama, Brazil and Spain. And my mom was the constant," said Natalie. "She would always make sure that when we got home from school, we felt like we had our number-one fan, our champion right there, waiting for us." Along the way, Natalie learned many things from her mother, which she carries on in her role as a mother of two sons.
As a Mother's Day gift, Natalie treated her mom to a day of pampering(宠爱). "I want my mom to feel like a queen," she says. And as part of the surprise, Natalie brought along an old photo of her mother, which she wanted to recreate. "I think it was taken in the mid-60s. So she was in her early to mid-twenties. She's just absolutely a beautiful woman. But she's looking in the mirror. It's like not knowing really her future, but knowing where she came from," describes Natalie. "That picture just speaks so much to me. I want her to see what she created in that mirror, and that she gave us all something so great."
"It's just an amazing experience to take this picture and have Natalie do it. I could never imagine in my entire life," says Penelope Morales, who adds that she's very proud of her daughter. "All I want her is to be happy and to raise her children the same way." She says.
