Keep Showing Up as Individuals & with Community

With so much weighing on our immigrant families right now, I almost didn’t post this.

But I realized — self care is what allows us to keep carrying the fight with dignity.

Here’s how I’m practicing it….

It was a heavy week in downtown Chicago.

The startling roar of the “L” overhead, the press of deadlines, the weight of responsibilities.

I carried what needed to be carried. I stayed present. I closed matters.

But when the weight was set down, I remembered — self care is not optional. It’s survival.

I flew down to see my son. He is promoting the flight school he manages at the annual city fair.

The shift was instant — from the metallic grind of trains to the lively pulse of country music, laughter rising over carnival rides, the smell of popcorn in the air.

It reminded me that life still holds moments of paz, familia, y alegría.

And yet… even in that peace, I couldn’t ignore what’s heavy for our comunidad.

The injustices faced by so many Hispanic and immigrant families right now.

The weight they carry is far greater than a “heavy week.” It’s a fight for dignity, for presence, for survival.

That’s why self care matters.

Not as escape.

But as the strength we need to keep showing up.

So I ask you — how do you find your balance when the world is heavy?

Do you pray?

Serve?

Laugh with your kids?

Sit in silence until the ground beneath you feels steady again?

Whatever restores you, do it. For yourself. For your family. For our comunidad.

Life can be heavy. But we stay present. Knowing we value. And, we move forward as individuals and with community.

For more on my work, visit:

myautenticoself.com