The tiny upstairs room was originally a second-story closet in Gracie Garcia’s home in Gilroy. But she turned the space into a bedroom for her granddaughter, Amanda Burns, 18, when Amanda was just a toddler.
Through the years, the room has maintained its fairy tale quality, with pale pink walls adorned with a selection of pictures showcasing storybook characters and animals and a matching ruffled comforter covering the child-size bed
“Your reward is your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren, and gratefulness for the longevity to have grand- and great-grandchildren”, said Garcia as she reminisced about her life and family.
Garcia is one of many mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers in Gilroy and across the United States who will be showered
with love, gratitude, flowers and other gifts Sunday for Mother’s Day.
Sitting in her Gilroy home surrounded by family photos and beautiful antiques, Garcia, mother of four, grandmother of seven and great-grandmother of two, reminisced about the early years of motherhood.
“I had three under (the age of) 4,” she said. “I just enjoyed my babies and stayed home. It was a good time.”
Her youngest child, Julie Garcia, 46, can attest to her mother’s passion for motherhood. She fondly shared her mother’s explanation for having one last child.
“She told me, ‘I wanted to have one more baby in my arms,’” said Julie Garcia, noting that her mother was a wonderful role model in her life. “She’s independent, and she takes care of herself, and I’m very similar in that way,” she said. “I like that.”
Born in Campbell, Garcia, 76, lost her father when she was just six years old. She believes the tragic loss made her draw closer to her own son later in life.
“I think because I lost my father so young, my son was very special to me. I have a truly perfect son,” she said. “I still think I’m going to see (my father) sometime. I just miss him.”
Garcia was also very close to her own mother whose simple but sage advice helped her when her 35-year marriage ended
in divorce.
“My mother always said, ‘Go out and pull a few weeds,’” Garcia said. And she did just that, eventually pulling enough weeds to create a beautiful “Garden of Eden” in the backyard of her Gilroy home.
“It really works,” Garcia said.
Nature has always played a vital role in Garcia’s life, starting with her childhood when she fell out of a redwood tree. Garcia remembers how the branches bounced and broke as she tumbled her way down the 70-foot tree. When she landed on the ground, she was cradled in a huge pile of limbs.
“I didn’t have a scratch,” Garcia said. “That’s why I thought that tree was my mother.”
Garcia’s love of nature and her family came together recently when Julie Garcia paid her mom a visit. Mother and daughter sat for quite a while on Garcia’s front porch marveling at a small bird that discovered a mirror on the porch wall. “This bird let us get very close, was very calm and hung around and let us admire it,” Julie Garcia said, remembering that day.
“It would even take a flight around the yard and return. It was such a joy to spend time with my mom, just enjoying the beauty of nature.”
Besides being a mom, grandmother and great-grandmother, Garcia is a lifelong collector of antiques, which she displays throughout her home. She turned that passion into a business when she opened Gilroy Antiques in 1989.
“I love that store. It’s like a cocktail party without the cocktails,” Garcia said. “I meet people everyday of my life. I’m by myself and I’m never lonesome, because I get so much fulfillment in the store.”
Julie Garcia said she’s been told her mom has developed a local fan club with the people who love to visit her store and share stories with her.
Kimberlee Dorris Rossi of Leedo Art & Framing is a member of the club.
“I want to be just like her when I grow up,” Rossi said. “I just love her to death.”
In honor of Mother’s Day, Garcia shared her philosophy on life with some other mothers who might benefit.
“The only thing you really need to make you happy is having the gift of life,” she said.
“I wake up every morning; I go out on that front porch and suck up that sweet air. I have my one perfect cup of coffee, and I think life cannot get any better than this.”
