Exhausted but happy. So much I want to share.The wedding was last night and it was fabulous, but I have to have some functioning brains cells to do it justice, so I will save posting about that until I get home. I've had some incredible experiences with my family this weekend, but seriously, the after-party at my cousin's house tops them all. ...
My Big, Fat, Cuban Family
Family is everything to me. I love them more than words can describe.
My Big, fat, Cuban Family Party (together) before the Wedding
Today's the wedding day. We've been anxiously awaiting this chance to have a big, fat, Cuban family wedding in Miami. Today is that day. People, we're out of our skin excited! To be together, to be a family, to welcome more family, to poke fun at each other, to laugh together, to dance together, to tell jokes and family stories. To celebrate being ...
Code Red
Prepare yourself South Florida..... The last few days have been a flurry of texts and phone calls between my mom and my sisters and my cousins and my nieces and myself.My big, fat, Cuban family is preparing to invade Miami. (Ay Dios mio!) Michael and Kimberly are getting married on Friday. (Yay!) And because of the nature of weddings and all the ...
What do you call your Abuela?
The span in age between me and my oldest sister, Ofie, is about fifteen years. Which means she was married and had her first child, Annette, by the time I was nine. Which means that at that point in my young life, my mother, Luz, became a grandmother."La Abuela!" She had waited so long to finally hear those words. She could barely wait until ...
“Felicidades, Abuela!” (state your name)
I've written before about how my family spent summers in Varadero Beach in pre-castro Cuba.My grandmother's birthday was in late June so we would be out of Havana and not with her to celebrate. So we would call.... It seems like such a simple thing, making a phone call from Varadero to Havana, but it was quite an elaborate operation because the ...
When in Rome…
It was a TOGA party we had last night for Adam's birthday.(And yes, we did a sing along - to Disney's Hercules)I dressed in a toga.I cooked dinner in my toga.I became quite attached to my toga.They're very comfortable and I think I look spectacular in RED. Heck, this might turn out to be our Christmas card picture this year.... (that wouldn't ...
Nuclear power
When Adam was a toddler, he picked up the nickname "Adam Bomb."He was kind of a big, cuddly, brute of a toddler and the name fit.He was an amazing phenomenon....just like the atom.If atoms are so small, I've often wondered, how can they release the kind of energy needed to create a nuclear explosion?I wondered the same thing as I was attempting to ...
Helen…. Wheels?
My sister, Helen, has a daughter, whom she named... Helen. I know. It was a totally Cuban thing to name children after their parents back in the day, but that's not important right now. Technically, she named her Helen del Carmen.So in order to differentiate between them, the family thing has been to call the younger Helen by her full name: ...
Caught in the moment
Our kids get such a kick out of the way Eric and I interact.There's always a lot of eye-rolling and sheesh-ing when we are affectionate in their presence.But I know they like it. They like that we are always holding hands and giving each other meaningful looks.Lucy especially likes to photograph us candidly. It's probably comforting to think that ...
A Sasquatch by any other name would smell as sweet
I have 2 sons. Having sons gives me a glimpse into another world that would probably not even show up as a blip on my radar if it weren't for them. Take the following example:There are dozens of names for the quasi-mythical ape-like creature with the massive feet who purportedly roams the great northwest. He is known most commonly as "Bigfoot." But ...
