My brother sent me his three-year-old son’s first music video. Less than two minutes in length, the video captures the little dude wildly strumming and twirling a green broom, while singing three words over and over, “Sing my song, sing my song, sing my song.” While the lyrics could use some work, he utilizes his … Continue reading Day #6 of Wild and Exciting Little Things: More than just air guitar
Mi Familia
The Matriarch(s)
My family is my foundation, my rock, my catalyst, my comfort, my soul. I have been blessed with amazing parents, who not only provided (and continue to provide) unconditional love and guidance for me, my sister and brother, they have proven to be role models to many, from cousins to neighborhood children. A few years … Continue reading The Matriarch(s)
A Walk in the Garden of My Grandparents
There is a quote from Alice Walker’s essay, In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens, that has stayed with me since the first time I read it a few years after graduate school. As a matter of fact, two to three pages of the essay remain imprinted in my memory and excerpts can be found scrawled … Continue reading A Walk in the Garden of My Grandparents
In Search of Tiny Yellow Flowers
On Thursday, April 16, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (1982) took leave of this earth. I learned of his passing late in the evening while perusing the day's news and was immediately saddened by his passing. The first thing I envisioned was Mexico City blanketed in tiny yellow flowers, as in the passage from One Hundred … Continue reading In Search of Tiny Yellow Flowers
The Lesson
My last unfinished post was in July. I was working on a piece about my recent one-week conference with the Oral Health Kansas Dental Champions Leadership program and members of the Kansas Leadership Center. It was a somewhat stressful, slightly confusing, but incredibly inspiring week and I'd decided, after a week of digesting, possibly a … Continue reading The Lesson
How to Cure the Common Cold One Teaspoon at a Time
Virginia Woolf once said, "Illness is a part of every human being's experience. It enhances our perceptions and reduces self-consciousness. It is the great confessional; things are said, truths are blurted out which health conceals." I'm sick. Not anything serious, just the everyday head cold, the one that starts with that tickle, like cotton, in … Continue reading How to Cure the Common Cold One Teaspoon at a Time
Moving forward
On Monday, appropriately Halloween, I begin a new position. For six years I have worked for the WSU Foundation, five of those years working with families and memorials at WSU. My job was humbling and incredible, but difficult. I cried with strangers over the phone and at their kitchen tables. Through those tears we became friends … Continue reading Moving forward
Mi madre, mi reina
Martha Andrea Vasquez Castro. My mother, mi madre. My queen. My mother would not consider herself a queen, not ever. I'm not so sure my mother considers herself strong, the foundation of her family, our family, the rock, but she is. Hers is the advice we seek, the ear we bend, the hand we hold, … Continue reading Mi madre, mi reina
Best Loved
When my sister married in 1976, our already burgeoning family became a little more so. Not that we were complaining. Our family is always growing, always extending, even today. But in 1976, we opened our hearts to the Hopkins family: Allen and Audrey, Mark (my sister's husband), Lee (Mark's brother), as well as Aunt Jean, … Continue reading Best Loved
Giving Thanks
For the first time in three years I am looking forward to this holiday season. The past three years have been tough, especially during the holidays. It began in November of 2007 with my husband losing his job, then Andrea passed away that same year on Christmas Eve, and each season following has been weighted … Continue reading Giving Thanks
Mermaid of the Plains 