Tag Archives: grandsons

Nov29

Whirlwind Weekend

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Whirlwind Weekend

I had an amazing weekend with my family in Culiacan. It’s almost a year since I last saw them and I’m determined to see them one more time this winter before I head back to Washington. I hadn’t realized just how large a country Mexico is until I started doing some serious traveling. And Aguascalientes is twelve hours away from Culiacan.

The whole family picked me up at the bus station Saturday morning bright and early. We were all excited to see each other and I marveled at how much the kids had grown since I last saw them. How can they possibly have grown so big? Juan Carlos is 14, Jose Agustin is 11, Angel is 9 and Christien is 4.

We drove out to La Limita Restaurante for breakfast. The food was wonderful and we had a fabulous time visiting and catching up. And of course this abuelita was overwhelmed by all her nietos vying for her attention. Life doesn’t get any better than this.

After breakfast we went to the mall for a while. After a short break at home we were off to a park to watch Juan play basketball. We came home for dinner and this was followed by a most interesting game of Super Mario Monopoly (in Spanish). Most unusual rules in this game and I’m not quite sure that I even now understand them.

On Sunday we went to the mass at church and one of my grandsons did a reading. We came home for lunch and then we were off to another basketball game. This was held at Universidad Autonoma De Sinaloa and was an all-star game. This was the most exciting basketball game I’ve ever seen in my life and the tie-breaker came with a sensational shot with a mere three seconds left in the game.

After the game we came home for a very late dinner. Then the boys were off to bed early as they leave for school at 6:30 am. Classes start at 7. This abuelita was still asleep and didn’t hear them leave the next morning.

We did spend time together when they came home from school. After dinner Juan took me back to the bus station on his way to another basketball game. Somehow it was Monday night and I was heading back to Aguascalientes.

Lucila is pregnant and I’m expecting grandson number five in January. I predict another whirlwind weekend in Culiacan in a couple of months.

Dec3

It’s All Relative

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It’s All Relative

I’ve been back in Mexico for over a month now and I finally made it to Culiacán. This city was the first place I called “home” when I came to Mexico nine years ago.

Juan Carlos was a baby. He’s now 10 and almost as tall as I am. The family has grown and I am now abuelita to 4 boys. Jose Agustín is 7, Angel is 5 and Christien is 8 months old. I come to Culiacán regularly to spend time with my family.

Culiacán has been in the news recently when the prominent drug cartel literally took over the city for a few days. It has always been a dangerous city because of the cartel.

But danger is all relative.

Just last week a fire truck was hijacked in my hometown of Winnipeg, Canada. Yet my friends in Winnipeg are not happy that I still visit Culiacán. Back in Aguascalientes my friends there have the same concerns. And everyone in Canada and in Mexico wonder why I want to spend several months of the year in the gun-toting state of Washington.

I look at it this way. Life is short. Living in fear of what may or may not happen detracts from our enjoyment of life. In order to appreciate every single precious moment, we need to really focus on the present. For once that moment has passed, it is gone forever.

Sunday night was filled with moments. We went to mass at a church nearby. My grandsons were excited because a movie was being shown outside in the parking lot after the mass. Chairs were hastily set up. Thanks to modern technology involving a computer and a screen, we were treated to Disney’s Christmas Carol, in Spanish naturally. What a beautiful way to begin the festive Christmas season!

Last night we went to Juan’s father’s home. Candles were lit and prayers were said to begin the Advent season.

Other special moments this visit include playing Scrabble with my grandsons and watching Juan play basketball last night.

Juan Carlos read me a beautiful story he had written in English entitled “A Friend Is Better Than A Videogame.” It rivaled any 10 year old native speaker’s story.

I’m sure we will share more special moments when the boys return from school later today. Sadly I must leave for Aguascalientes tonight, but I look forward to my next visit to Culiacán.