Simply Nora:High Heels And Diapers

May 24, 1929 was Nora's Prien's thirteenth birthday. Three weeks later on June 19th she was married to Ed Marquez in a pre-arranged marriage. He was nine years her senior. He'd promised her what she loved most, dancing and laughter. May 8, 1930 still at the age of thirteen, she gave birth to her first child. This child was to begin a legacy Nora herself never anticipated. A child at heart, Nora was thrust into adulthood and motherhood. Through trial and tribulation she learned the art of being a wife and mother with the help of local housewives whom befriended her. From the beginning of her marriage she was confronted with outside influence bringing havoc into her life and home. One person's quest to destroy her marriage and life became a lifelong vendetta causing Nora much heartache. Although a compassionate man, Ed's alcoholism introduced Nora to a world of pain and sorrow. Enduring what it plagued a family with, Nora navigated her way through life having baby after baby, with row upon row of diapers on clotheslines waving in the breeze. They are a testimony to her challenges. In the midst of it all she still found time to slip into her favorite high heels and dance her troubles away. Through it all she experienced the loss of two still-born children and three miscarriages. Ultimately, she was left with twenty-three pregnancies, nineteen surviving children out of twenty-four. At the end of her life in 1993 the legacy she left behind consisted of nearly 500 grandchildren, great-grand children, great-great grand children, and great-great-great-grand children. It still continues to grow today.