I want to thank you all for your love and support. Without it, this would have been impossible. Gracias desde el fondo de nuestros corazones. So, this all started back on June 3, 1944. From the beginning, my mother, Nivian Haydee Rodríguez Góñez de Pérez, fell forever in love with her family. She loved all her family—and that’s not easy. Mami’s family is huge. She adored her parents, mis abuelos, Doña Elena y Don Jorge, who she called out for her during her final days. She loved her brothers and sisters, starting with Angel Luis, may he rest in peace, and Georgie, who recently made it to heaven. The surprise my mother must have had when she saw her brother Georgie waiting for her in heaven! We also miss you, Tío Georgie. Then came José, Carmen Lucila, Yolanda, Teté (a.k.a.Millie), Rosi, María Elena, Becky, and Betty. I also have tomention the sisterly love she had for Aunt Carmen—they were more like sisters than aunt and niece. She also deeply loved our Papi—que en paz descanse—her children, her grandchildren, her daughters- and sons-in-law, her numerous brothers-and sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. The thing is that if you weren’t family, she’d interview you until she found a connection and voila: You were family! That was Mami. She had so much love that she could love them all and still have a full tank of love. My mother’s love of family manifested itself into the love she had for children. My mother was the one who you could drop off your newborns with—yes, even more than one at a time—and have absolutely no worries. In the final months of her life, my mother wanted unity, understanding, peace, and love. In Spanish, that’s unión, entendimiento, paz y amor. She said it all the time. And in the last week of her life, she brought her children, all four of us, together in a way I have never been together with my siblings:unidos, laughing, crying, hugging, reminiscing, holding hands. Through the unity, we understood that we are here to take care of each other the same way Mami took care of us and loved others, especially children. That unity and understanding turned our home into a place of peace and love. Mami did that for us during her last week with us. And I thought… wait. If I take the “U” from unión, the “E” from entendimiento, the “P” from paz, and the “A” from amor, it spells out “UEPA!” So, the next time you hear “UEPA,” you don’t have to think “unión, entendimiento, paz, and amor.”Think of Nivian, our Mami, your Ita, your sister, your aunt, your niece, your cousin, your friend! Can I get a UEPA? UEPA! Descansa en unión, entendimiento, paz y amor. I love you Mami! ¡Bendición!