Carmen Duran raised her daughter.
Then she raised her granddaughters.
And now, at age 74, Duran is raising three great-grandchildren.
She once dreamed of becoming a fashion designer. Then she dreamed of a peaceful retirement. But through the years, Duran put those dreams aside to be a mother to three generations.
Just when she thought life might slow down, it has sped up. She is responsible for Kassandra, Katrina and Michael Stewart, her great-grandchildren. She also helps care for her husband, Augusto, 84, an Alzheimer's patient.
''Every day is like 10 crazy days packed into one,'' she said. ``God gives me energy. My mind is young.''
Duran is replenished by a spring of selflessness.
On a typical day, she drops off Kassandra, 15, at high school at 6:50 a.m. She drives home to make breakfast for Katrina, 13, and Michael, 10. Then she takes them to their schools.
She makes daily visits to Augusto, who lives in a nursing home. She runs errands, does laundry and cleans her small house in southwest Miami-Dade before picking up the kids. Then it's time to help them with homework and make dinner. She also deals with doctors' appointments and teacher conferences.
She is devoted to the children, whose parents could not or would not care for them properly. Their mother, who lives in Brandon, has bipolar disorder; their father is out of the picture.
''I can't abandon these kids,'' Duran said. ``I don't want them to end up in a foster home. I want them to be together. My biggest fear is losing them. I already lost my daughter -- too soon, too soon.''
Her only child, Barbara, died of an aneurysm at age 48, leaving four daughters for whom Duran cared. Only one of them, the mother of Kassandra, Katrina and Michael, stays in close touch with Duran.
''This is me before all the drama,'' she said with a sigh and a laugh, showing a photo of herself in her younger years, before she was diagnosed with high blood pressure, before she had to get glasses, before she injured her arm in a fall while feeding her pet cockatoo.
``My life is like a soap opera.''
She worked as a seamstress and dressmaker in Havana. She moved to Spain in 1972 and then to Miami, where she worked in a clothing factory.
''I got my greatest fulfillment from my girls -- always girls in our family until Michael came along,'' she said.
Her grandchildren do well in school, but are coping with emotional and behavioral problems.
Kassandra has suffered from depression. Two weeks ago, Perez found her crumpled on the floor, writhing in pain. She thought it was appendicitis. After trips to two hospitals, doctors diagnosed ovarian cysts that may require surgery.
Katrina has battled a weight problem. Duran has tried to put her on a diet. She enrolled her in a gym class. She took her to a psychologist. But still, the middle schooler weighs close to 200 pounds.
Michael and Kassandra take medication for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
'We're working on the kids' self-esteem,'' Duran said.
She prefers to focus on their strengths.
Kassandra likes to write poetry. She enjoys studying the stars and planets. She'd like to be an astronomer or veterinarian one day.
Katrina likes drawing. She would like to be an obstetrician/gynecologist.
Michael likes to make up stories and build robots. He's a Discovery Channel fan. He wants to be an attorney.
In a Mother's Day card to Duran he wrote, ''I know you are not my mother, but we are going to celebrate as if you are.'' He gave her a pair of earrings.
''Michael is very intelligent and a true gentleman. He will open the door for you,'' Duran said. ``But he's very restless. He always has to invent a game.''
Sure enough, when Michael comes bouncing through the door after school, he comes over to shake a stranger's hand.
''Without our Mima, I don't know what we would do or where we would be,'' Michael said. ``She helps us with everything.''
Said Kassandra: ``She works so hard and we love her so much.''
She has paired each child with a Big Sister or Big Brother who takes them on outings and provides friendship and guidance.
But Duran could use more help. She said she ''scrapes by'' with a Social Security check, a disability check for one of the kids and food stamps.
She is worried about having enough money to pay the $2,200 property tax bill on her well-worn house, which also has a broken window and a leaking toilet. She needs new kitchen cabinets to replace the ones that are falling apart.
She would be grateful for a new computer for the children; the current one barely functions. As for Christmas gifts, Duran mentions bikes for Michael and Katrina and a telescope or microscope for Kassandra.
For all the challenges, she said she is buoyed by watching another generation grow.
''I wanted to go to college but never could,'' she said. ``So I push the kids to think big.'
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