I woke up this morning, eyes glazed, groggy, and icy cold from the ceiling fan. I had gotten very little sleep last night and spent the night editing photos and storing my artwork. I woke up not really wanting to go to church but forced myself out of bed anyways, slipped on my pink house slippers, and stumbled to gain my balance. It took me longer than normal to get ready, seeing as I had no idea what to wear. Once I was dressed, I sped off to church, running twenty minutes late (I’m never late). After service, I went down to Denver Harbor to visit my Guelita, my grandma. Feliz dia de las Madres! It’s Mother’s Day today, yesterday for Mexicans. As I was listening to my mother chat away with Guelita, I realized that she looks healthier than ever. She’s dying and was supposed to pass away four years ago but is still up and about. She asked me how I was doing and offered me her guest bedroom whenever I didn’t feel like making the long commute home from UH during those late nights. She knows how I used to stay really late for class and was worried about me driving half asleep. I love my Guelita. I can’t imagine my life without her, and it’s going to be different without her around. We were never really close, but I was always her favorite. I was always afraid of her. She always caught me in the heat of my mischief as a child and scolded me with a mighty Mexicana fury. It wasn’t until I got older that she really began to impact me with her sage advice and pan dulce. I’m a lucky woman.
I’m reading a few wonderful books at the moment: The Art of Life by Dan Eldon and Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. The first book is an illustrated journal of a photographer that was one of the first people to go into Somalia. He shows all sorts of neat things and gives little stories of his experiences. It makes me extremely excited because this is exactly what I want to do since I was five years old. I’ve always wanted to photograph different places while doing my missionary work. Persepolis is about a girl growing up during the social revolution in Iran. It’s an interesting book as she discusses her studies of communism and the regime that took over Iran. The best part is that it’s formatted in a comic book theme, so it’s like reading a comic book rather than the traditional autobiographies. I’ve also begun some perusing through Alfonso Reyes’ works, especially Mexico en Una Nuez y otras nueces, which discusses Mexican history. Growing up, I was always in love with British and American literature, but lately, I’ve been enthralled with Mexican literature.
I’m dreading my seven thirty Statistics class that commences tomorrow morning. Why did I ever agree to take this class so early?
For once, I’m happy. It’s touching that my parents look at me with those glistening eyes that say, “good job.” For once in my life, I don’t mind making them proud. Cheers to a well spent weekend!
Love,
Ari
