Friday, November 28, 2008
exactly what am I thankful for?
I could start with that I am alive.
That my body works, my fingers and toes and legs arms brain olfactory nerves, ya know, my body.
I'm thankful for my family. My man, my rock-solid gorgeous TCB-ing man. My daughter who amazes me daily with her wisdom, her beauty and her absolute love of life. My son, oh my sweet son who is unfolding like a flower or a sleeping tyrannosaurus rex, we'll see which he awakes to be tomorrow because it is ever evolving. From there, my family of origin who I would pick over and over and over to revisit this life this world this experience with because my dad, my mom, my brothers - the one we lost, the one we found, and the one who's been next to me all along, and my sister are unarguably the most loving amazing hilarious cool and wonderful people on the planet.
I am thankful that I live here, in this house, on this street, in this city, in this country. There, I said it. I have lived in another country, I have visited a few other countries and while each place had its charms and loveliness, there is no other country on this planet like the good ole U.S of A. (I am not jingoistic, just grateful that I do live here.)
I'm thankful for morning snuggles with my babes, cozy in our big bed with the light streaming in and blue sky above through the window and I am extra thankful for those special mornings when I awake first, Augustus, me, Magdalena, then Ethan, all still in bed, all still asleep around me, I hear their breath, feel their closeness, and I feel safe, like there is nothing bad or scary in the world. Oh how I give thanks for those mornings.
I am thankful for my sparkly clean bathroom and new shower curtain.
I am thankful for the new stereo in the Mitsu that my darling husband ordered for me and my bad-*ss BIL put in for me (thanks Neil!).
I am thankful for our family traditions, the way we laugh, Anthony's movie lines, and that our family is growing.
I am so thankful for all my Cuban primos, they keep me grounded in history and family and who we are.
I am thankful for my husband who reminds me that I am also Puerto Rican, German, some other northern and central European and more so stand proud.
I am thankful that there are people in my life who remind me to have some gratitude.
I am so ever so thankful for the people in my life who share their lives with me, us, who let me in enough to witness their quirks or defects or worst sides so that I know that I am not alone, that I am not so awful, and that it is human to be human.
I am thankful for my Georgia cousins and auntie who have more love than they know what to do with and have always loved me, through thick and thin.
I am thankful for moments of Grace, those seemingly split-second moments when my mind cracks open and I can see, if only for that moment, that my life is lived in perfection, not a cosmic eyelash out of place, that God's got it baby, that it is all alright, that we are not going to be ok, but we are all ok right now.
I am so thankful for those moments those sand-slipping-through-my-fingers moments because as fleeting as they are, when I realize total surrender to what is and realize the beauty and love of the life that surrounds me, I am at peace, I understand serenity, and even as the moment fades I am left with a knowledge and understanding of God, perfection, unconditional love and true pure beauty.
That is exactly what I am thankful for, that and oh so much more.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
magic, dreams and believing
The planning began and after months of knowing it was coming and asking and dreaming on the part of Magdalena, the weekend was upon us. Magdalena, Augustus and Frida's excitement was infectious and I got really excited. Who knew? We arrived at the park and the first thing we saw was the parade. And can I tell you, there is nothing as incredible as the look on my daughter's face when she saw Pooh, then Mary Poppins, then (GASP!), The Princesses! I cried the kind of tears that are all gratitude and love and wonder and thanks and goodness and awe. I cried because my daughter was with my mom and it was pure magic. I cried because who knew I could be so moved by spectacle? I cried because there is an innocence in us all, and it broke through my cynicism and I was filled with joy, absolute joy. Watching my mom up front with Magdalena and Frida was magical, the kind of magic that I imagine Walt Disney himself thought of when he dreamed up Disney. Disney's theme is "Where Dreams Come True!" and you know what, they do in a crazy veneer sort of a way.



But wait, there's more...
Seaworld
Now, I thought I knew what to expect at Seaworld. I went a when I was little, I remember Shamu, I remember the amazing dolphins. But theater? Acrobats? It seems that Seaworld has taken a page from the Cirque du Soliel book and created a wonderful combination of theater and sea mammals and birds that takes magic to a new level because, basically, it's real! The theme or slogan of Seaworld is "Believe". Believe in yourself, believe in your dreams, believe you can do whatever it is you want to do. Believe. And after a day at Seaworld, I believe.






Our weekend adventure turned out to be a stellar, smashing success that went beyond my wildest imaginings of what it would be like. I went braced for conspicuous consumption, staggering consumerism and the attack of a marketing juggernaut, which we got, but what I didn't expect, or what I forgot about or didn't know about, was the magic, the pure magic of the whole thing. The optimism of a place where dreams come true, the joy and pure fun of Disney and the unexpected brilliance of Seaworld. Think about it, all those people, all that machinery, all that energy just to make you, and you, and you, feel special and for just a moment, feel like all that magic is all there is and really, all that matters.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Frida in her natural state, and a bit a canoe trip; two of three

We also saw two birds, I'm pretty sure one was an ibis, because of the shape of his bill, and the other might have been an egret. Both still, white, then gone with a swoosh. Then there was this beautiful purple flower with the yellow middle, there on a bare, viney bush hanging over the water, offering up these gorgeous little tidbits of color.


The gator sighting was extremely exciting, until later that night, after the children were tucked safely in bed and I was trying to fall asleep and I started having total anxiety over being in the same body of water as an alligator. A live hissing reptile with a lethal snap. Can you see where I was going with that? I had to do total mind control and visualization to get past that one.
We missed our man Ethan, papa, Boolu. We missed him in our canoe, we missed him when we saw the alligator, we missed him later at Tito Chuchi and Aunt Su-su's house for the Gator game and yummy game snacks a la Aunt Su-su.
We miss him. Come home soon my love, or I'll come visit you, ok?
Has it been a week already? one of three, what a bargain!
What We Did The Day After The Day After; and, How I Learned Magdalena Wasn't Ready To Ride By Herself.
Magdalena's self-expression the Wednesday after the election, the Little Mermaid in all her land-lubber glory.

We went to the fair! Oh what promise of fun and sugar awaited us! Magdalena and Augustus first saw the fair the week before when we went to Obama rally at the coliseum, right next to the fairgrounds and Magdalena had not stopped talking about it. When can we go to the fair? Is the fair still here? Is the fair open now? Can we go to the fair today? Mama, when can we go to the fair?



Wednesday, November 5, 2008
just another day



Sunday, November 2, 2008
Halloween encore and a few other things

I am inspired by Things We Never Want to Forget, http://noradawn.blogspot.com/, Halloween blog. Nora mentioned that "we were a homemade costume family". That's what got me thinking, revisiting all those Halloween pasts, remembering specific costumes. Most tragic: the Hamburgler from the old McDonald's marketing campaign (kinda creepy, isn't it? a Halloween costume based on a character from a marketing campaign for McDonald's? It makes me cringe just to think about it). Most fabulous: Adam Ant. Oh my but did I love me some Adam Ant. I scoured the city for the perfect band/short tux/military jacket, put together the most perfect outfit/costume, I remember almost shaving one of my eyebrows so that when I did the makeup, it would be perfect. Ok so I didn't do that but I did look like this:
And on a different note, today I Voted. I exercised my blessing as an American citizen and I voted. On Sunday, when everybody is off work, the weekend before what is predicted to be the highest turn-out election in recent history, and I chose today to early vote. I had really really really wanted to vote on Tuesday, to cast my ballot on that day, with most other Americans, but I tell you what, on Tuesday we have Frida and the idea of potentially waiting in line with three little ones is daunting, so off we went today. It took about an hour and fifteen minutes, and Augustus and Magdalena had to vote also, as in fill in their own bubbles which had me sweating with anxiety because I was so scared they were going to mess up a bubble and then would my vote count? Remember, I am voting in Florida, voting debacle central. Anyhoo, I obviously did not let them fill in the biggies, just the local judges who I was not informed enough about anyway. Which will not happen again, for the record.
Oh. My. God. What a feeling it was to go vote. I was so excited, probably as excited to vote as Magdalena was for Halloween to finally be here. I kept wanting to talk to all the other people in line and say things like Do you know how amazing this is? Why aren't you smiling, this is the greatest possible thing in the world! and then I came down to earth and realized the unsmiling couple behind me of whom one member was texting furiously the entire time they were in line might be Republicans or maybe just were having a bad day, but really, I thought it was like a party and we should all be celebrating. Because shouldn't we be? Do I dare hope, truly? Is it too good to be true, or is hope here? In Spanish the word esperar means hope and wait.
Espero. Espero.

Sleeping Beauty, Max, Cinderella, fairy butterflies, wild rumpusing and candy candy candy

Our regular downtown public library, the Main Branch, hosted quite the Halloween festivities for the children. They oh-so-rock. All the librarians were dressed up, some too well (scary witch Magdalena hid from, a regular librarian we know, but just too scary) and they set up a trick or treat scavenger hunt for the revelers. There was a parade around the fountain outside, then art/craft was making candy bags, then we got a hand-drawn map of the library with clues and questions. Each desk that had a pumpkin had candy for the trick-or-treaters and there was a fact to find out and fill in with the map. After successfully carousing four proper floors plus the basement for facts and treats, we returned to the children's section and got to pick out a book per child. Wow. Beautiful, new, illustrated children's books. The mission to promote reading is made a reality each and every time we visit. Our library is a magical and wonderful, full of people who love and cherish the children and do everything they can to make our experience fruitful and rich.






Saturday, November 1, 2008
a whirlwind of party tafeta, tule, felt and black whiskers
Tuesday I started on the costumes. Let's see, I think I've known for I don't know, at least a month what my children were planning on being for Halloween, so why do I act like a college student cramming for exams? I started the costumes on Tuesday. Started. I posted back on October 20 that a mama made outfit was in the works. In my mind maybe, but I didn't even buy the material until Monday, so exactly what was in the works two weeks ago is beyond me. I didn't even have the Max suit worked out in my head until after 10pm on Thursday. On Thursday. Night. I think I might have time management issues, yes?




When the cookie fest was finished, I put the children out in the yard. Yes, I did. Listen, it was gorgeous outside, perfect late afternoon fall weather, crisp and cool, run around in weather and they had just eaten a ton of sugar and sprinkles, they needed to be outside! I had been working feverishly on Magdalena's costume all day, in between cooking and making beds and doing dishes and reading children's books, of course, and Augustus was really really ready to have a costume. He put on the basis of his Max suit, pre-embellishments, and insisted, I mean Insisted that I put the whiskers on his face. I have medical skin paper tape that is always in the kitchen drawer, but not that day, no. So directly onto his face I scotch-taped the pipe-cleaner whiskers, where they stayed until the next morning, and happy happy happy he was.
a pumpkin patch and cool enough for coco


