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My Beautiful Great-Grandmother Jimena Baquero from Colombia Her name was Sarah. She was born in Antigua, Colombia; her mom was from Medellin; and her dad was born in England. She lived in a small town; and when she was 15 years old, her parents made her marry a 45-year-old man. He was very rich, but she wasn't in love with him. After one year, she started to have children. They had five children—four boys and one girl. After the last boy, her husband died; but he didn't leave her any money, so she had to start to work. She washed the clothes of the town people, but she wasn't making enough money, so her older son, who was 16, had to start to work, too. When each of the other children turned 16, they had to help, too—all of them but my grandma. She was the only girl. After 5 years, they moved to Medellin, and they continued working. Her children started to get married and gave her grandchildren. My great-grandma was a beautiful lady, but she never got married again. She was very elegant, and she knew how to dress, how to talk, and how to walk. She raised her children all by herself, and she did a very good job. After years, some of them moved to Bogota and begin their own business, but she never wanted to go over there. She preferred her beautiful Medellin. When she was very old, she couldn't see or hear and could hardly walk, so my grandma brought her with us, and she lived with my grandparents for almost 10 years. Even when she was very old, you could tell how beautiful she was. When I was at my grandparent's house, I loved to sit by her. I would put my head on her lap, and she would play with my hair and tell me stories about things that happened when she was young. We learned a lot from her. She was a wise lady. I think she never did anything wrong. She loved to sew, and when we were little, she made beautiful things for us. When she knew that a new baby was going to be born, she got so excited, she could sew for hours and hours. She loved to sing tangos, and she knew how to dance. That's why when she lost her vision and her hearing, she got so depressed; and she always said, "Hon, ask God to give me my eyes and ears again." It never happened. She died 6 years ago in Bogota when she was 93 years old. I didn't want to see her that day. I prefer to remember her as that beautiful and lovely lady.
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