Some time has passed since I enjoyed the warmth of all my family getting together, it happened few months ago during a trip I have tried to describe in this blog before, yet still pending in my drafts. While many people share dinner or play board games with their families every weekend, for us getting together requires more planning and coordination.

We decided to spend this holiday season with our family, every single day, every major event and every meal, I bet these holidays will create very long lasting memories.   Less than a week ago CG (yes, working on a nickname for my little one) was very curious during a little ceremony we had to place the Christmas tree star, she was amazed with the colorful tree, the Nativity Scene, the brightness of the star and grandpa climbing a little ladder to do the honors, she started to feel the real meaning of Christmas. Later that night CG met her new cousin, she was looking at her like a big sister would do, touching her gently and making sure she was taken care of, seems that CG understands that there is a family connection just right there.  

Later in the week we traveled to the beach to meet the other side of the family, sun, sand, water and a plastic swimming pool it’s all they needed to have fun, laugh, play hot potato and share snacks like they see each other every day. 

CG swam for the first time in a huge pool next to the beach and built sand castles, she spent countless hours playing with her cousins, uncles, aunts and grandpas, she is really getting to know her entire family.

Watching CG enjoy her family like this and creating these amazing moments reminds me how important is to stay close to each other and spend quality time with the family.

I am speachless when I see how they make her feel part of the same “circle” even when she lives far away and has very little contact with them. FaceTime works but it is not the same.

If I had to pick the best thing during this trip, I would say the sense of ownership, safety and care for each other has been the best, to me that describes the meaning of family right now.

At some point we will go back home, will be physically far away again, will miss each other touch, but we will keep the memories of these days to remind us how important our family is.

Every day since I moved out from my parents home and then to another country, I think about these family ties and the physical distance between us. It is part of growing up, building a professional career and a family of my own. During these holidays I am rediscovering that our family is the escense of what we are today and will be the heart of what CG will become in the future. 

If there is anything I can do for her, is to keep her close to our family and teach her the importance of staying together.

 

After some research on the true meaning of the Thanksgiving holiday, I found this website which I think describes the celebration holisticly, from a Native People of North American perspective, the Pilgrims and even from a religious point of view. Below is an excerpt for you, however you can read the full story here.

“Giving thanks for the Creator’s gifts had always been a part of Wampanoag daily life. From ancient times, Native People of North America have held ceremonies to give thanks for successful harvests, for the hope of a good growing season in the early spring, and for other good fortune such as the birth of a child. Giving thanks was, and still is, the primary reason for ceremonies or celebrations.

The arrival of the Pilgrims and Puritans brought new Thanksgiving traditions to the American scene. Today’s national Thanksgiving celebration is a blend of two traditions: the New England custom of rejoicing after a successful harvest, based on ancient English harvest festivals; and the Puritan Thanksgiving, a solemn religious observance combining prayer and feasting.” 

For me Thanksgiving means expressing gratitude and sharing. Gratitud for my friends in this journey, friends I consider my extended family and have shown their care for my two girls. Sharing everything, our home, time, food, laughter, more food and even prayers. 

This year we continued the “tradition”, Thursday at 8am everyone ready for the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 10k. Probably the little one doesn’t have a clue why we are doing this, however I am sure than one day she will appreciate the fact that she has participated in it since she was born. Yes, we were sleepy, hungry, it was cold, windy, but it was also the continuation of something we started a year ago – and our friends were there too. 10k is a small sacrifice for all the eating that was ahead of us, a mix of traditional Thanksgiving turkey with a Mexican spin, including guacamole, mole, wild rice, salad, spaghetti, cranberries sauce and some desserts.   As the host, I was honored to cut the turkey, a task that might seem easy but in reality turkeys have some body parts very oddly placed. Obviously I had the help of two of the best chefs I have met, that made the task very easy to tackle. But the most important part of the day was sharing the table with those I love the most, our friends, our extended family which is always there while we are far away from those that gave us birth.

The feast started with a very gentle “Gracias” from the youngest in the room, my dear daughter who played with the other kids until she heard “Can’t feel my face by The Weeknd” opening the dance floor. We shared stories of years past, we created new stories for years to come like the stolen pecan pie and we sang along with a Kareoke night.

This is what Thanksgiving means to me, expressing gratitude for what we have “harvested”, friendship, love and sharing it with those I care and care for me.

Oh, and if you wondered, the little one can rock till late hours, she went to bed at the same time as the last one at home. I hope that at 16 she goes to bed before me, ha.

All starts every Saturday at 7:30am, everybody up and getting ready for music lessons.

Some say music is good at all ages, even when your heir is still inside the womb. I have read a lot of articles about it, some say it is good for their brain development, others say that its real benefits haven’t been confirmed, there are even articles about how infants respond to music  and Youtube videos like the Emotional Baby.

While the direct benefits of music are yet to be confirmed, we decided that music lessons in her early life were a good idea. My problem was not paying attention during the music class selection process – you snooze, you lose they say or for my Spanish speaking readers “camarón que se duerme, se lo lleva la corriente”.

I’m going to leave aside the singing skills of our music teacher, she plays the guitar, she has fun with the kids, she is patient with them and the parents,  she dances with the class and she prepares her lessons in advance, we were even given a CD with all the songs and a book with the lyrics to sing along.

I thought these lessons were meant for our kid, to develop her brain, her senses, her fine motor skills, but no, these lessons give me the impression that are for parents with no musical or fine motor skills whatsoever.

Kids don’t pay attention to anything for 45 straight minutes, don’t dance, don’t sing along,  they don’t even speak yet, they just run and jump around the room. Meanwhile, moms and dads make music with their hands following the teacher playing guitar, some of us have learned the lyrics already, we dance to the music and fly like butterflies – imagine a group of adults flying around a classroom like butterflies extending their wings – while small bugs run behind you thinking: what’s wrong with my dad?

Doesn’t matter how early we need to wake up, or how ridiculous I feel singing and dancing to this music, I will keep coming. This is one of those things I do because I believe in the positive impact it will have on her and on me, I see it in her smile, her eyes, her moves and the five bees in the beehive she likes mom to sing.

If you have the opportunity to join a music class with your kid go for it, it might develope her or his brain, it might help with fine motor skills or improve their memory, but for sure it will be an opportunity for you to connect with them and fly like a butterfly –  here it is socially accepted.