"San Givin" or the Saint of Giving

In true Latin and Catholic (which are one and the same as far as I'm concerned) tradition, many major holidays are saints' feast days. Thanksgiving is no different, as the pronunciation of the word "thanksgiving" in Spanish sounds like "san" or saint, "givin". Therefore we have created a new saint thanks to this national holiday.
For the past several years, ever since my sister and her husband moved to Atlanta, we have been traveling there (here) for the holiday. With the exception of last year when we went to Puerto Rico to visit our cousins instead. The Atlantans went as well and it was a trip worthy of quite a number of blog entries as the number of fiascos was quite numerous for such a short holiday.
Doug, Paola, and I drove up yesterday, a trip my husband had hoped would be shorter without the other two children (who flew up with their grandparents) but that actually turned out to be longer because of Paola's frequent and time consuming eating schedule. So the flat Floridian landscape ended up being flatter and longer than we both remembered it. We also purchased an audio book with the high hopes that we could enrich our minds while passing the time, but instead the monotonous voice coming from the speakers tended to induce sleep for whoever was driving. Still, listening to the memoir (Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer) made me long to write for myself and I remembered regretfully that I have neglected my writing.
And with the blink of an eye, the holidays--holy days--have arrived. A magical time in which everything is decorated and the family that we ignore and forget about during the busy grind of quotidian life comes together to live a little more. May the "saint"of giving grant us the gift of time this season.

Motherhood Times Three

Today is Paola Emmanuelle's fourth day of life. She was born on Thursday, November 6th at 1:25pm, weighing 6lbs 9oz, and measuring 19inches. She is a beautiful baby and has been very kind to her mommy so far, eating and sleeping well. While my third pregnancy definitely lacked the "magic" or eternal "happy expectation" that the previous ones did, these past few days of the miracle of life have not. The beauty and love that are experienced during the birth of a child are simply immeasurable. The dichotomy between the pain and joy make both those emotions multiply into a sort of ecstacy which is hard to describe let alone compare. There are parts of motherhood I find very challenging and difficult in that they are not in my nature. But not this stage. In this stage of feedings, nurturing, and instinctual behavior I find I am more "me" than at any other time. I feel I am my true self. So, I have fallen in love once again. For the fourth time. ( My husband being the first.) Cecilia Frances. Marcelo Tomas. Paola Emmanuelle. And I thank God. For so many Blessings and so much Love. Thank you.