I recognize that working mothers exist all over the world so this isn’t a new discovery for me, but I recently spent a week in Chimaltenango, Guatemala, and my appreciation for working mothers increased ten-fold.

Chimaltenango is a rural, mountainous community with little access to clean water or technology, and I found myself envious of the resourcefulness of the men and women in this community. I saw rows upon rows of farm land that were cultivated on the sides of hills and mountains-all done without tractors and other modern conveniences. I saw hard-working men and women wake up at sunrise and work until sunset with little more than a hoe and a jug of unclean water.

The men who didn’t farm worked in construction. The entire time I was there, I saw perhaps only a handful of men who weren’t working. It was a far cry from the American experience. But it was the working women who captivated me. I met married mothers, divorced mothers, single mothers and young unmarried women and they all shared with me that their dreams revolved around their children receiving an education and having more opportunities to succeed in life.

Not that different from the dreams of mothers everywhere. Our conversations all took place while the women were weaving. From beginning to end, I would watch as they spun the dyed fabric and wove multiple colors into a finished product, and I would marvel at the time it took for them to complete one project. A single table runner might take an experienced weaver a day and a half to finish and could bring in $5-$10. There were no guarantees that the women would be able to sell these in the marketplace, but day after day, they would sit on their knees for hours and spin and weave.

In this picture, I captured a 13 year old girl just learning to weave, but she struggled to sit in the same awkward position for hours on end. She had a hard time keeping the lines straight on her loom. But as soon as her sister and mother recognized her struggles, they immediately left their own looms to help her, and I took a picture to remind me of this beautiful moment of women helping and teaching each other.

I couldn’t help but be saddened at hearing that their children may only be able to attend school through the third grade before it was necessary for them to stay home and work. My husband and I discussed how we could sponsor all of these children to come live with us in the States to give them a chance at life-long education, but these women weren’t sad. They were confident that their children would have better lives than they had, and it was patronizing of me to think that they needed my help to make that happen. I was projecting my view of a successful life onto them, but watching them all week long, I knew that there was a thing or two they had to teach me about finding contentment in simplicity.

I’ve been home for four days, and I miss Guatemala. I miss the kids. I miss the view of the mountains and volcanoes. I miss the women and their stories. The countdown has begun for Guatemala 2013…