Their
photo was one of the most haunting images in the wake of the deadly tornado that barreled through Moore, Oklahoma, on May 20.
Associated Press photographer Sue Ogrocki captured LaTisha Garcia carrying her 8-year-old daughter Jazmin Rodriguez away from tons of rubble of what used to be her daughter’s school, Plaza Towers Elementary School.
It was an image filled with so many emotions: mother and daughter, holding on to each other as they make their way to safety through a devastated neighborhood. It was a run for survival. It was a journey any mother will not hesitate taking for her child.
“It was a long way toward the end of the parking lot,” Garcia
told AP. “And she’s a heavy girl. There were times I didn’t think I was going to make it. But I did.”
Any mother will understand why Garcia braved the massive tornado just to get to her daughter. As Dame Agatha Christie once wrote, “A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity. It dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.”
The photo of Garcia and her daughter is considered one of the most enduring images of the storm. But for Jazmin, it will serve as a beautiful reminder of what her mother will do for her. “I know she’s always [be] there for me.”
Sheryl Pouls is a mother to two teenage daughters, Samantha and Amanda. More thoughts about parenting and motherhood are available at this Twitter account.
