Smart, funny, creative, kind, exuberant. Mateo is 15!
Posts Tagged ‘family’
15
Tuesday, November 26th, 2019
ShareThisFoolish pie
Thursday, April 20th, 2017A couple friends asked me to explain “foolish pie.” My grandmother was a fantastic cook of Southern dishes–fried chicken and dumplings, green beans with pork with a streak of lean, baked beans, sweet iced tea–and foolish pie was one of her specialties. The pie’s main ingredients are pineapple, whipped cream, and sugar. Served chilled, it was cool and simple on a hot summer night. I thought the recipe was unique to my grandmother, or maybe to Tidewater, Virginia. But I looked it up and here it is on Cooks: Foolish Pie.
My sister Deanna clarified for me why the name: “Foolish” because it’s so easy, anyone can make it. Not, as I assumed, because you’re foolish if you eat too much of it.
Maybe that, too.
Holiday mode
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010The last day of school before winter break meant holiday parties in classrooms around the country, including those of Mateo and Olivia. I attended both.
Mateo was proud of his gingerbread house, made from graham crackers, candy canes, and chocolate, held together by cupcake frosting sprayed out of a can. Later, he constructed a reindeer ornament from popsicle sticks, and drew a picture of a snowman wearing a colorful striped scarf.
After Mateo’s party was over, I made my way to Olivia’s school. In her classroom, each student had been asked to make a presentation on his or her ethnic heritage, followed by a potluck lunch comprising food from each child’s background. The meal demonstrated the great diversity of California’s population, with dishes from Ireland, Norway, Mexico, Italy, Wales, Cuba, and Iran. Olivia spoke with confidence about being indigenous Maya and Guatemalan, and explained how tortillas are made. Her fellow students enjoyed seeing the Guatemalan flag and a picture of the country’s official bird, the beautiful and elusive quetzal, depicted in the flag’s central field as well as on the cover of Olivia’s Guatemala ABC’s book. Below, Olivia is holding her favorite hackysack ball, a common sight in Guatemala, shaped like a frog.
The next morning, we set off on a road trip to visit grandparents and family in San Diego. With pit stops and delays because of rain, the drive took nearly eleven hours. But with my sister Patrice along and Shakira’s music blasting from the CD player, nobody seemed to mind. We arrived in San Diego in holiday mode, ready to sleep late and slow down.
Perspective
Sunday, April 11th, 2010My 81-year-old mother suffered a massive heart attack at age 61, but recovered well enough that she later went back to junior college and graduated with a degree in dance at 72. Nevertheless, she is, now and forever, a “heart patient,” which means that when she awoke Thursday night with chest pains, my father immediately drove her to the hospital where she was admitted and spent the next day and a half. Thankfully, it was a false alarm; Mom is now back home and doing fine. (more…)
