Tickets to Joel Osteen $60, Roundtrip airfair to Kansas City $200, Dinner at Pierpont's $250, Being with your family Priceless
I have been contemplating how to start writing about Tita's visit with us in Kansas City. I knew the title immediately and published it. It is the content that has me stumped. As we know, because I keep bringing it up and it's the reason I started sharing my writing, I have been on an emotional roller coaster for far too long.
Tita and I had been planning her visit for months. She loves Joel Osteen and he was coming to KC, which was a perfect opportunity for her to come up and see the boys and us. Sometimes you just have to plan to make things happen. She could have easily cancelled her trip because of my prior three weeks situation. I am so glad she did not cancel.
Tita and I have always been close. While I have two other aunts, Tita is the one I am closest to, and know the best. Growing up, she spent Christmas with us. I have wonderful memories of Christmas going back to about 4 years old when we lived on Mesilla street. When we lived on Armijo, our holidays seemed to be so grand in the pink house with the stairway and high ceilings. Even when we moved out to Real del Sur, having champagne cocktails, brings joy to my heart.
Watching Tita play with William and Jack last week was a highlight in my life. I kept thinking of ways to set up a video camera so they wouldn't know it was on. But I realized that these were memories I wanted in my heart, not to be stashed away on a video and forgotten in a drawer. She may not realize how closely I watched her and the boys, but I did.
I often thought of what Tita and I have in common. We have blood, which she reminds me, is thicker than water. But we do have a lot of differences; She is an athlete, and I am a spectator. She's tall and I am short. She likes to read and I collect the books. We both treasure momentos from our lifes and prior generations.
We also have a lot in common, more than I realized. We are both the baby of the family. Living in the shadows of our older sisters. In a way, it's been a life long struggle to live up to the shoes of the J and JA. Struggle is a harsher word than I want to use, but I can't think of another word right now. We are both spiritual, and think about what life is about, and our purpose and meaning. While I am not at the stage in my life to ask or even think about my real true purpose, she has been at that stage for awhile.
I think about her purpose and might have a pretty good clue as why she is with us but, I won't really know for years to come. What I do know is that her influence and coaching abilities far exceeds that on a court or track; whether it be volleyball, basketball, tennis or track. She underestimates herself and how much she means to so many people, which surprised me.
Not sure why it surprises me, as I think most of us underestimate ourselves. Some of us work our asses off to prove to ourselves that we are achievers. Others of us are underachievers and don't live up our true potential, living only a fraction of we can truly do. (I am going to talk about underachieving soon in a separate blog.)
When Tita left Kansas City, I was exhausted. She is 69 years old and I am 43. She flew back to El Paso and two days later was off to Las Vegas for more fun. Wish I had half of her energy. While here, she was on the floor with the boys playing flag football, and not just for a few minutes! She played over and over for days. To quote her and mom, she's more fun than a barrell of monkeys. She has been though a lot of physical problems; breast cancer, knee replacement, heart problems and never bitched once.
The older I get, the more I understand that each of us views life from a different angle. We cast judgements without walking in anothers shoes. For example; my view of my mother, father, grandmother, brother, sister, etc. are different than Tita's view of her sister, mother, brother in law, nephew, niece, etc.. Nobody's viewpoint is wrong, it's just different. We have different relationships with each other.
Anyway, I will need to get to some things around the house. It's 68 degrees today and we're having snow tomorrow. Go figure!
Thanks for coming to our home Tita. Mis casa es su casa. Con mucho amor y besos. Su nieta y hermana de la Republica de Tejas. Viva Tejas! Ha ha ha ha ha xoxoxo
Tita and I had been planning her visit for months. She loves Joel Osteen and he was coming to KC, which was a perfect opportunity for her to come up and see the boys and us. Sometimes you just have to plan to make things happen. She could have easily cancelled her trip because of my prior three weeks situation. I am so glad she did not cancel.
Tita and I have always been close. While I have two other aunts, Tita is the one I am closest to, and know the best. Growing up, she spent Christmas with us. I have wonderful memories of Christmas going back to about 4 years old when we lived on Mesilla street. When we lived on Armijo, our holidays seemed to be so grand in the pink house with the stairway and high ceilings. Even when we moved out to Real del Sur, having champagne cocktails, brings joy to my heart.
Watching Tita play with William and Jack last week was a highlight in my life. I kept thinking of ways to set up a video camera so they wouldn't know it was on. But I realized that these were memories I wanted in my heart, not to be stashed away on a video and forgotten in a drawer. She may not realize how closely I watched her and the boys, but I did.
I often thought of what Tita and I have in common. We have blood, which she reminds me, is thicker than water. But we do have a lot of differences; She is an athlete, and I am a spectator. She's tall and I am short. She likes to read and I collect the books. We both treasure momentos from our lifes and prior generations.
We also have a lot in common, more than I realized. We are both the baby of the family. Living in the shadows of our older sisters. In a way, it's been a life long struggle to live up to the shoes of the J and JA. Struggle is a harsher word than I want to use, but I can't think of another word right now. We are both spiritual, and think about what life is about, and our purpose and meaning. While I am not at the stage in my life to ask or even think about my real true purpose, she has been at that stage for awhile.
I think about her purpose and might have a pretty good clue as why she is with us but, I won't really know for years to come. What I do know is that her influence and coaching abilities far exceeds that on a court or track; whether it be volleyball, basketball, tennis or track. She underestimates herself and how much she means to so many people, which surprised me.
Not sure why it surprises me, as I think most of us underestimate ourselves. Some of us work our asses off to prove to ourselves that we are achievers. Others of us are underachievers and don't live up our true potential, living only a fraction of we can truly do. (I am going to talk about underachieving soon in a separate blog.)
When Tita left Kansas City, I was exhausted. She is 69 years old and I am 43. She flew back to El Paso and two days later was off to Las Vegas for more fun. Wish I had half of her energy. While here, she was on the floor with the boys playing flag football, and not just for a few minutes! She played over and over for days. To quote her and mom, she's more fun than a barrell of monkeys. She has been though a lot of physical problems; breast cancer, knee replacement, heart problems and never bitched once.
The older I get, the more I understand that each of us views life from a different angle. We cast judgements without walking in anothers shoes. For example; my view of my mother, father, grandmother, brother, sister, etc. are different than Tita's view of her sister, mother, brother in law, nephew, niece, etc.. Nobody's viewpoint is wrong, it's just different. We have different relationships with each other.
Anyway, I will need to get to some things around the house. It's 68 degrees today and we're having snow tomorrow. Go figure!
Thanks for coming to our home Tita. Mis casa es su casa. Con mucho amor y besos. Su nieta y hermana de la Republica de Tejas. Viva Tejas! Ha ha ha ha ha xoxoxo
Comments