I’ll never forget the first time Nina Simone pierced my heart. I was in my early twenties, dancing to Feeling Good in my jazz class. I heard plenty of her songs before that day—her voice was unmistakable. Yet this was the first moment I connected with her, body and soul.
I began to wonder: Who is the woman behind this emotionally commanding voice? A voice like that doesn’t come out of nowhere. It comes from a place very deep inside.
I heard the most beautifully resolute sentence the other night. A man was talking to me and Mr. H about his wife, and he said: “We’re still our favorite people.”
I loved this. It stuck to my heart like emotional glue.
The next day a different man shared his upcoming ten-year anniversary plans with us. He was surprising his wife (and mother of three) with a getaway. That trip wasn’t to the usual romantic destination you might expect, on some white sand beach or big city with reservation-only restaurants. It was Oklahoma City, where they got married.
I loved this too. It stuck to my heart like emotional glue.
I guess I was moved by how much both of these men loved their wives. And, how very real it was. When people have been married for a long time, there is a different level of life experience.
I sometimes can’t believe I used to cross days off my calendar with a colorful, scented marker. I was only a child, counting down the days until Christmas, my birthday, Halloween, or summer break. Time used to feel incredibly infinite back then.
The idea of crossing days off my calendar now terrifies me. Each day crossed off is one day lived. The things I do and the people I see are finite.
I used to hang out at Lenora’s house before school and smell the fresh tortillas her mother made every morning. The delicious scent lingered in my hair and clothing while I sat in class…hungry, and day-dreaming about tacos.
In a Southern California middle school I was the minority—most of my friends were like Lenora, not me. Later in Texas, if I hadn’t been close to my match-making friend, Juan, I would never have met my husband of 13 years, Mr. H.
The top 3 states with the largest Hispanic populations in the United States are New Mexico, California, and Texas. I lived in two of them. Throughout my life, I was immersed in the Mexican culture by default. Yet, there were so many things I didn’t understand.
Sometimes you have to let your creative mind hibernate, so it can wake up when the sunshine returns. This may happen by choice, or not. For me, it just kinda happened. Time cascaded through my fingers like cold, incessant rain.
Life was as rambunctious as ever, courtesy of running Superneat Marketing with my husband Mr. H. Silly me thought leaving my full-time job for consulting full-time was going to free up time for writing and general creativity. You may all laugh now.
