Mom’s the Word column: Keeping ‘the’ Mother close, musing on this first Mother’s Day after the Eaton Fire

The story Jennifer Magallon tells is this: The morning after Jan. 7, walking up to the unrecognizable ruin of her home, among fallen trees and chunks of rubble, ash in the air, feeling like she could fall to her knees in disbelief, something she saw kept her on her feet.

At left, the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary stands among the ruins of the Magallon family home in Altadena on Jan. 8. At right, the same statue protects the family’s home in Palm Springs. The Magallons hope to return when their home is rebuilt in about two years.