“Back Home” – Yellowcard
I find myself sitting in the office at Sofia’s house while the rest of the house sleeps safe and sound. It seems that unlike previous years we have “gathered at Fifi’s house for Christmas” (59). She seems happy with the arrival of her new baby boy, but exhausted at the same time. I have missed my sisters and parents very much. The last of one of our group, Yolanda, finally arrived just two days ago.
Sofia has been keeping me closer than normal. She talks to me constantly and makes me laugh when I’m close to crying which is quite often. I put her through quite a scare when I started losing weight, but now that I’m better she seems to be joyful all the time. The other day she took me out for coffee and told me about her worries and fears especially those of being a new mother. The two of us being together again has been a gift from God.
The other night Carla, Fifi, Yolanda, and I stayed up late in the night and talked for the first time in years. Although when Carla and Yolanda started getting irritated, I noticed Fifi panic which is unusual for her. I then realized that “this is the first time the family has gathered together in a year” and completely understood her reasons for calming them down and attempting to keep the peace (60). Other than that little bump, we have been inseparable since we arrived here. I feel young again just like when we first moved to New York and spent all our time together because we knew no one else. It’s a comforting feeling to know that after all of our fights and arguments that we still love each other so much.
It is different than the years that we’ve grown up with each other. We are all changed women because of the challenges that we’ve had to overcome during the past years. I can see that behind the happiness in each set of eyes that there is a fear in all of us, but only when one of us is left to think for quite some time. It seems to happen less and less frequently since we’ve arrived at Fifi’s house and maybe we are all healing from our past pains and tribulations. Maybe it’s true that love does really heal all the past scars especially the love of one’s family, like my own. All I know is that I will always be part of the Garcia Girls.
“With or Without You” – U2 (As performed by SCALA and the Kolacny Brothers)
“Hey Sandra, I just wanted to let you know I showed this post to Mami the night before I left for the island. She cried for almost an hour which showed me that she’s very proud of all of us.” – Yolanda
ReplyDelete“Of course, she’s proud of us. She should be! Yes, we have not always made the smart decisions, but it seems to me that we have very good heads on our shoulders. I love you all.” – Carla
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