Is time
to visit sister lopez again
the number one healer
and fortune card dealer
in Spanish Harlem
She can communicate
with your late relatives
for a reasonable fee
Good news is guaranteed
That is how I was raised. It was so different. We were taught ghosts, angels, and aliens were totally normal. I was taken to psychic fairs on the weekend growing up and taught to read cards and stuff... don't all kids?
When my friends would cut themselves their mother's put Neosporin on their wounds. My mother though still spits at that stuff claiming it is a conspiracy to cause infection and make you go to the hospital. We had to have Mecuro (it is called Monkeys Blood and died our skin red for weeks) and we were not allowed bandaids b/c they cause infection too.
When we got sick we were not taken to the doctor or given medicine right away. Instead my mother would go find a tea for that. Sometimes she grew the herbs in the front yard but our pet ducks would eat it (another interesting thing was living in the city and having rabbits, ducks and chickens as pets). I still to this day can't go near an herbal tea! They were nasty. What was wrong with Pepto Bismal.
Other funny things were: I was never allowed to cut my hair. My mom's family and our family speak so loudly (and it is often interspersed with curse words, something I'm trying hard to drop for my own kids sake); we are not mad at each other but rather just very animated. We say what is on our mind. I would get dumped and my mom would say "get over it, he was a loser, now go do you homework).
My family!
It isn't all bad though. This is why we love big parties and we love food! I was raised where "family is family, and you will have each other" so even now my siblings and I fiercely protect each other. We also laugh and laugh. That was part of why Chris fell in love with me. There is a feeling of welcoming everyone and serving. It makes me want to always be helping others now as an adult. Honesty was always a cornerstone in my home growing up. My parents made it clear money doesn't matter as much as being a good person matters!
Sometimes I wonder how my culture will melt with Chris' (which is a more "All American" style). I think we will skip the psychic fairs and card readings but definitely keep the huge parties! I wonder if my kids will one day be writing blogs about the horrid things their mom did. I think that is a given. I wonder what they will take as adults. I guess I just hope they will have a strong faith in God, a heart filled with love, and still love to laugh. They also better still love the Texas Longhorns ;)
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