An open letter to my great-grandparents:
Dear Abuelita and Abuelito,
It has been 5 or 6 years that I last have seen you. I mean you guys aren’t dead but still you moved back to Mexico a long time ago and I miss you. I miss the way that you would come over and let yourself in and wait for us to get home. I miss the way you would tell me stories about my grandma and your life stories and endeavours. I miss the way we would go shopping together just for my Abuelito to shop for new mugs and for new bags and you would just get the same pink or purple long skirt with a new hair broach every time. I guess, I just miss you.
I appreciate those little moments that seemed so meaningless yet stuck with me for the rest of my life. When we would cook together and I learned how to make molé straight from the source. The pain of grinding the almonds and chile by hand using a mill still haunts me. (My arm is already sore just thinking about it.) Or how we would have BBQ’s and we would only cook with wood because both of you hate cooking with coal.
”Es toxico!,” you would say. Also, how my uncles wouldn’t “chop the firewood the right way” so Abuelito would have to come in and show them how it’s done. An old man with an axe cutting a block of wood perfectly in half; against 4 30-something year old men that never hit the target, pretty impressive. I guess there are no words that could describe the most important lesson that you taught me, to just enjoy the moment and live the life the way you want to. I just love the way you guys always had an optimistic view on everything.You were alway there with your wrinkly hand but young heart.
People always say that I am lucky to know both sets of my grandparents yet alone knowing my great grandparents is a true blessing. I don’t know weather you guys noticed or not but you guys are the reason that family is still family. I just want to say thank you for making sure that we get together every once in awhile. It’s funny how the same words pop into my mind from time to time when I get to talk to you.
“ Tu nacistes nomas para hacerme vieja!” You were born just to officially make me old.
I loved the way how you would not introduce me as your great granddaughter because you never wanted anyone to know that you are old enough to be a great grandma. Every year for both of your birthdays you would want us to have a question mark as the candle,never your real age.
Seeing that you guys have been married for over 75 years has taught everyone in my family what the word love really meant. In your eyes, love means not only caring for each other but also being able to go through the ups and downs each others lives. In your eyes, life is like a candle, no matter what you do , where you are, your light will eventually go out. Sometimes a gentle breeze or sometimes the candle just runs out of wax.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that you taught me that life is family and who you become is how you are raised. You guys raised a wonderful daughter, she raised an amazing son and he raised me.
To my dearest abuelito, you probably changed my life the most. You said that “we are the fishermen of the sea of life.” There are very few quotes that actually changed my life but this one is the one that always kept me going.
Los pescadores van a los pescados, los pescados no tienen pies para caminar… dependiendo en el esfuerzo y la preparación determina cuando de grande el pescado va ser.
In other words, the fishermen go to the fish, fish don’t have legs to walk… depending on how prepared you come and the strength you put in determines the size of your fish. Which is pretty ironic considering the fact that I hate seafood. You always loved your wise sayings, because in your mind you always said “I have nothing to offer but words.”
But that was back then, when we were together, as a family. Ever since you guys left our family spreads farther and farther apart. Have you ever thrown a rock into water and see it ripple.At first the ripples start really close together and then over time start getting bigger and further apart. The will ripples eventually disappear into the rest of the body of water.
I guess that this is a great time to say that I am sorry. Sorry for the fact that our family that you have worked hard to keep intact, is falling apart. It’s like cutting down a 20 foot tree, working hard to get to it’s
height just for one event to knock it down. Our family rarely gets together and when we do it’s mostly just when someone needs something, never just out of kindness. Now imagine when your circle of life comes to an end then where would we be. Our family would eventually lose all ties to each other, becoming those ripples that flow onto the next body of water. You see in this case you were the rock, you started creating the ripples. But rocks do not float in water… they sink. When the rock sinks to the bottom of the body of water, there is nothing causing any of those ripples anymore.
There is really nothing left to say but thank you, you gave us wisdom,love and most importantly,family.I know this is cheesy but, while friends come and go, family is forever. To my great grandparents, even though you will probably never read this , I just want you to know that we love you. When the day comes and you have to leave us, just know that your names and your legacy will live on.
Sincerely,
Jesenia
