As a child of divorce, I’ve always felt that there are many things that I missed out on due to my parents’ separation, especially because it was across two countries. Mom moved us all to Chicago, while my Dad stayed in our house in Puerto Rico. On the list of things I missed, there was […]

“We found you in the alley and felt so bad for you, we decided to adopt you,” was the line my siblings and I used on each other regularly as we were growing up.  No one actually believed it, yet the person who was being told they had been adopted always responded, “Shut up, no […]

I had no intention of putting up any holiday decorations this year. Though I’ve had my apartment since the beginning of August, I still only have what I could carry by myself when I moved in. Most of my other stuff (the little I have) is in storage. So to say my place is bare […]

My nephews and niece are in town for a few days. At 5 years old, my niece’s thick mane of hair is almost to her waist, just like her Tia’s. I couldn’t get past how adorable she is in all of her sweetness and I grabbed her and said to her, “We need to take […]

I have five nephews and five nieces. Only four of them live in Chicago. The two oldest—in their 2os—and two boys, ten and 8. Ever since I returned to Chicago from Puerto Rico (about eight months now) I’ve been heartbroken at the fact that Michael, the 10 year old, no longer wants me to kiss […]

I got to spend time with two of my favorite people today: my nephews Michael (10) and Jacob (8). To say that I love them and they make me smile would be an understatement. They never cease to amaze me with the people they are becoming. Case in point, our ride home. Today was report […]

My first few months in Puerto Rico were spent being forced to wake up each morning when my dad woke up. He went out to the marquesina (driveways in Puerto Rico are generally used as TV/entertainment rooms) to turn on his old stereo, which was always set to his favorite station, Radio Oro 92.5. Easy […]

During my early childhood, Christmas was the most amazing time of the year. We lived in Puerto Rico and celebrated from Thanksgiving to El Dia de Los Reyes Magos. It also helped that my mom’s birthday is on Christmas day. From parrandas, to food, to opening presents, to putting a box of grass under our […]

  Last week my nephew [seemingly] innocently asked me, “Titi,do you know how it to make soup?” It was such a random question that it threw meoff a bit. “Soup? Like from a can soup?” I asked, confused. “No, real soup,” he said.Oh, I thought. He must have had soup at his abuela’s recently. “No, […]

My dad owned a tire shop in Cayey, PR, when I was young.Some of my earliest memories are of my sisters and me running around the shop,hiding inside the stacks of tires. During our childhood games of hide and seek in the tireshop, I never once stopped to think about what everything around merepresented. The […]