A Girl Named Eve

One of the lessons learned from driving to El Paso, Texas, with my younger thirty-something brother, Gabriel was learning how to conquer my fear of driving large automobiles. The car I drive is mid-sized. Over seven years ago, I hydroplaned in a twelve passenger van and spun into an almost 360 degree turn and stopped at a telephone pole in time to not get thrown back into traffic. This incident was the basis of my hesitation for taking the wheel of my brother's Suburban to help him with the long thirteen hour drive. Gabe was tired and hung over from staying up all night with friends. I contemplated. Would we be any safer with me driving? I've always believed in conquering my fears instead of letting myself become limited by them. However, I had slowly been doing the opposite ever since the spin out. I stopped driving our large family van altogether. It wouldn't be my first time driving back all the way from Texas. At the age of 19, I drove a Toyota Minivan back from E...

I finished reading Las Niñas: A Collection of Childhood Memories  by  Sarah Rafael Garcia  the night before heading out on a short trip to El Paso, Texas, where I would visit my father and tias (aunts). Out of all my unfinished books, I'm glad this is the one I chose. It was the perfect read to get me in the mood for visiting family. In Las Niñas, Sarah recounts touching girlhood memories shared with her family of three sisters (las niñas), their proud parents, and extended family of cousins, aunts, uncles, and an unconventional abuela (grandma).  Life wasn't all roses for Sarah, especially after her father passed away when she was only 13. Nevertheless, in her memoir, Sarah focuses on what matters most, the life lessons her parents taught her while growing up, and the simple yet beautiful memories they created as a young Mexican-American family with aspiring dreams. The Garcia family's vision of the future is best summed up in a letter Sarah's father, Ra...