on her last day
June 1, 2009
she woke up early to make her atol de elote. she said her arm ached, her knees hurt, her eyes burned and her head pounded. the truth is she didn’t want to leave. several years ago my mom applied to make my grandma a permanent resident. that way she won’t have to return to el salvador every six months. but the paperwork has taken much longer than we thought. so today, we once again drove her to the airport and sadly waived good-bye, hopefully for the last time.
emely bear
May 31, 2009
she got a puppy. and of all the names she could have chosen, what did this 7-year-old kid pick? princess honey bunch.
maritza
May 25, 2009
today i am celebrating you and your brand new start. i miss you like i missed the sun in portland and there’s much i would give up to bring you home (elotes con mayonesa, chile y limon, the old shakira, my favorite cowboy boots) but i’m so, so happy for you. te mando un mil de besos from the west coast.
my abuelita
May 24, 2009
looking fly at the beach. in the crook of her arm she lugged around a little black purse filled with: a plastic rosary, a comb, vicks vaporub, her reading glasses, all the jewelry she owns and $ 8.
midnight
May 23, 2009
he blinks
May 22, 2009
and i’m in stitches. no one makes me laugh faster or harder or louder than my dear friend, fredsito.
flush in fuschia
May 17, 2009
elena celebrated her birthday with a bash in marina de rey. the place was full of english and spanish and portuguese and wine and cheese and fruit and the most incredible mahi-mahi taquitos (gracias a la linda mama de elena) and just as i was leaving, a friend of hers took center stage and danced for everyone in the living room. happy birthday, elena!
women like these
May 11, 2009
they step into your life and they heal you and transform you. with white wine and chocolate coated strawberries and endless girl talk about careers, mothers and men that runs past 2 a.m. on random monday nights. with summer plans of running a 10k in san francisco and sipping wine in napa valley and for one memorable night, putting all life aside to dance a quebradita in a mexican cowboy’s arms.
happy mamacitas day
May 10, 2009
“but it’s weird!”
May 6, 2009
she said over sushi this evening. “you … with the camera … out of nowhere … taking pictures of me.” but i had do. because this is gina. just as stunning, or even more so, than when i first met her 12 years ago on the high school yearbook staff. fresh from a year and a half of living in hawaii, she is back — strong, independent, on the brink of a brand new chapter in her life.
