Category Archives: Familia

Cuentos, Familia

We got hosed, Tommy

“We got hosed, Tommy!” Lori said to me and sat down on a bench, exhausted from a long day exploring cenotes (underground lakes) and the pyramids at Chichen Itza.

We’d just missed the ferry from Playa del Carmen back to Cozumel and had to wait another hour for the next ferry. That wouldn’t seem so bad, unless you consider that we’d been traveling around the Yucatán Peninsula since 6 in the morning and it was now 10.

“I know Tommy, let’s go get drinks.”

We left my parents at the dock and joined the guys at a nearby bar for a cold beer.

For the rest of the trip, Lori and I repeated the phrase several times and even addressed each other as Tommy. My mom was confused.

“Qué es eso de Tommy?”

We shrugged.

We couldn’t remember where we’d heard the phrase. I kept thinking it had something to do with The Rugrats due to the toddler in the blue shirt named Tommy.

I repeated the phrase recently to Alan when we got duped in to taking an unnecessary cab ride to the Neon Museum in Las Vegas.

“Huh? Where is that from?” he asked.

“I don’t know… I think it’s from Rugrats. Maybe I should check.”

A few weeks later, I finally got around to a quick Google search. Mystery solved thanks to YouTube.

This post sponsored by Mountain Dew. Just kidding.

Standard
Familia

Sonrisas

rubén “Can I hold him?” I asked Danny, my cousin.

“Yeah,” he gladly handed over Rubén, his 8 month old son. “My arm is getting tired. I think I’m even sweating.”

Rubén looked at me curiously. He looked down at the pendant hanging on a thin silver chain around my neck. With his chubby little fingers, he started pulling.

“No, papas, don’t pull that.” I got the pendant out of his tight grip and moved it out of his reach behind my neck. As I pulled my hair aside Rubén noticed my earrings and started touching them too.

“Oh no, papas,” I said. Rather than figure out just how hard an 8-month old can pull, I took out the earrings.

“He likes looking at stuff and seeing people,” Danny called out to me.

“Oh okay,” I said and walked with him around the house. His dark brown eyes darted back and forth as he checked out the paintings on the walls and family he rarely sees enjoying Mother’s Day. I took him to the sunny backyard where my uncles were seated. Rubén looked at them calmly. I tried to sit down, but he wasn’t having it, so I took him to see the fish tank in my grandparent’s room. On the way there, we passed Elsie and Danny. Rubén turned to his mom, smiled and then turned back toward me.

“He smiled and barely looked at me!” she said, surprised as we kept walking to the living room.

“You know,” Elsie began, “he doesn’t go with just anyone. And he definitely doesn’t smile with most people.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, he likes you. I think you have good chemistry with kids.”

“Maybe… or it could be that I just know how to make the boys smile,” I joked.

A few minutes later, Elsie and Danny started saying their goodbyes. As he gave me my goodbye hug, he said, “now we know who to call to babysit.”

I’d be down.

There’s nothing like a well-behaved baby to help me get my baby fix.

Standard
Familia

Thanks, Mom

Dear Mom,

Happy Mother’s Day!

Thank you for being awesome, for supporting me in every endeavor, for working hard to give me a comfortable life (but not be wasteful), for teaching me to be a good person, for making me feel better, for being creative and artistic, for teaching me to never be ashamed of my roots, for standing up for me (even if I didn’t deserve it), for reading, for showing me the meaning of strength and faith, for always making such delicious food, for teaching me how to dress, and above all, for loving me unconditionally.

You’re the light in my life.

Love,

Cindy (aka your Favorite Daughter)

Standard
Cultura, Familia

Backyard remedies

On Sunday morning during breakfast, I started complaining about an earache.

“Which ear?” my mom asked.

“The right one. I don’t know why it just started hurting,” I told her.

She got up from the table and went to the backyard. A minute or two later she was back with a little green object between her fingers.

“The right one?” she asked to make sure.

I nodded, and she took the small rolled up green stuff (shown above) and stuck it in my ear.

“Es ruda,” she explained. “It’ll make you feel better. Just leave it in there like that for a little while.”

“You know, this reminds me of a conversation I had with Nancy last week,” I explained to my mom. “We were talking about the backyard home remedies our parents use, like sávila (aloe). My tío Pancho would slather it all over her sunburnt arms and back when she returned from a day-long concert. You know, like you would do when we returned from the beach.”

“Oh yeah, the best is when you cool it down in the refrigerator before rubbing it on. Then it’s nice and cool.”

“I thought it was weird when I was kid. It felt all sticky,” I admitted.

“Yeah, but it helps,” my mom replied.

“I know.”

Over the years, our backyard had provided all sorts of plants for home remedies. We have sávila (aloe) ready to provide some relief from a sunburn. If I have cramps or a sore throat, my mom or grandma will pick off orange (and lemon, I think) blossoms from the trees in the backyard to make té de siete azahares. We also have ruda which my mom has used for earaches for my siblings.

By the time I was done with my breakfast of huevos rancheros, frijoles y chorizo con papa (yum!) my earache was gone.

I love my mom’s (and grandma’s) home remedies.

Standard
Comida, Cultura, Familia

Nopalitos

nopales

For a long time, I thought all Mexicans in the LA-area had nopales (cactus) in their backyard. Of course, my sample size was small. All my relatives had nopales growing in their backyard. We did too.

The nopales, spread out in a corner of the backyard against a brick wall, were a nuisance to us kids who had to be extra careful while playing. On the plus side, I’m sure they deterred a thief or two from climbing the wall and we were never burglarized.

For Mamá Toní, a native of Zacatecas where nopales grew on every cerro (hillside), nopales are meant to be eaten. They’re for ensaladas and guisos. They go excellent with tortas de camarón during Lent and are an excellent side dish with carne asada. (I won’t even get in to the tasty tunas, or cactus pears.)

Nopales are not only on our frentes, they’re in our tummies too.
Continue reading →

Standard