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What will you be at 96 years old? Will it rain?

The following is a true story from Maria Antonietta Berriozabal, a former city councilwoman in San Antonio, Texas, highly respected for her integrity, dignity, and spirituality.

On Sunday, August 6th, 2006, she wrote:

Today was my mother's 96th birthday. At lunch I asked her how it felt being 96. For the past few days we had to remind her every day that her birthday was coming and she asked how old she was. Today in response she quickly replied: "No me gusta porque no llueve." And she said no more.

We thought that was quite a response. Who knows where those thoughts came from. However, at about 5 today it started to rain.

When you know my mom's story it makes a lot of sense.

She was raised in the country and worked in the fields for most of her youth. Because of her interest in reading the sky and what messages it gave her she became a really good meteorologist. We could always depend on my mom on whether to take a coat a sweater or a raincoat as we left in the morning because she was always right on target. And when we did not heed her advice we bore the revenge of nature. My mom had learned to read the clouds. But because as a child she experienced terrible tornados and storms that would devastate the little houses where the medieros lived, most of her adult life was spent with a great fear of rain and storms.

These days she hardly goes out. It is so hot. Her mind wanders on and off all day long. She gets confused and, well, you know about those things. Her environment is mostly inside a cool house. But today in addition to lots of loving relatives, flowers, gifts and song she got rain. To me it was a miracle.

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