The new baby

When Maria was 8 years old, her mother told her she was going to have another baby. Maria was very excited! To prepare for the new family member, the family moved to a larger home close to the town. Maria was given a yellow room and the baby would sleep in her room when it arrived. This made Maria even more excited!

In October, Maria's baby sister, Teresa was born. She was the sweetest baby and everyone said so. Maria quite agreed and loved to feed her and hold her and even change her diaper. She loved hearing the baby softly breathing as she slept each night.

As the baby grew, Teresa began to take on her own personality. She was loving and sweet and loved to laugh. She was a little sassy too - always ready to boss the big kids around if she felt the need. Maria and all of her brothers and sisters adored Teresa.

When Maria was in junior high and high school, she still shared a room with Teresa and Teresa was her best friend. Maria shared all of her secrets with Teresa.

As she grew up, Teresa became a fun-loving, caring and confident woman. She got married and had beautiful children and always loved her family. She and Maria always stayed close and shared the special bonds of sisterhood and friendship.

Today is Teresa's birthday. Happy Birthday - from Maria and me!

Dive in or take it slow?

When Maria was around eleven years old, she lived with her family in a big house in a nice lakeside neighborhood. In the summer, Maria's family spent a good amount of time at the lake. They had a pontoon boat for leisure rides around the lake at evening time. The also had a small speed boat for skiing and fishing. These were kept at the gated neighborhood dock.

Now, this lake was in Michigan and as you may be aware, the water never gets truly warm in lakes such as this one. But still, the family would often go swimming off the docks. Maria's father liked to take the kids down after dinner on summer nights to cool off after a long day. All of the kids loved this. They would quickly don their bathing suits and gladly ride their bikes down to the dock.

Once they arrived at the lake, someone would yell, "Last one in is a rotten egg!" Off they would run down the dock to the end. All of the kids would stop short at the edge and look in wondering how cold it was.

Then Maria's father would dive in. He would swim to the surface and say, "Come on in! It's not cold at all."

Then one by one, the kids would jump in and, one by one, they would come to the surface and shiver.

Maria, on the other hand, always took a different approach. She would walk to the ladder leading into the lake off the side of the dock. Then she would dip her toes in. Then she would place her feet on the first rung of the ladder. Then she would slowly, slowly, slowly lower her body into the water a little at a time, pausing to let each section adjust to the water temperature.

Usually during this process, her father would have been out of the water a couple times for a running jump or dive back into the lake. He would always say to Maria, "If you just jump in, your body will adjust more quickly and you can have more time having fun."

Maria still eased herself into the lake every time. However, I can say that she does now appreciate the advise.

Tomatoes

When Maria was about 10 years old, she and her family had two dogs named Chipper and Frisky. These were outdoor dogs and not allowed inside the house. The dogs each had their own area outside and each had their own dog house.

Maria and her brothers and sisters would feed and water the dogs everyday. They fed the dogs table scraps along with their dog food. One summer, the family ate a lot of tomatoes and a few tomato scraps made it into Frisky's food dish.

Now do not worry, Frisky never became ill and it was not common knowledge at the time that tomatoes were bad for dogs. Anyway, back to the story -

Summer came and went, as did fall and winter. As the snow thawed and melted away, Frisky's area and dog house looked just as it always had. As May came around, some plants began to grow around the edge of Frisky's dog run. By June, there were big juicy tomatoes ripening on the vines of the plants.

Now I know you're questioning if the family ate the tomatoes. I would be lying if I said they did not. I am pretty sure though that Maria's mother refrained from telling the family whether she was using "home grown" (Frisky grown) or "store bought" tomatoes in the salad each day.

Maria and Snoopy

When Maria was about 5, her family bought a baby goat. he was white with a black spot and was very curious. He was quickly named Snoopy and given a large pen all to himself. Maria instantly fell in love with Snoopy.

Maria often could be found in Snoopy's pen playing with the goat, feeding him or just petting him. She often dragged her brothers and sisters to visit Snoopy with her. Once they all had cupcakes. Maria gave little pieces of hers to Snoopy as she often shared her snacks with the goat. When it was all gone and just a paper wrapper left, Maria told Snoopy, "I am sorry it is all gone." Then snoopy snatched the wrapper from her hand and promptly ate it. Maria gasped, "Snoopy just ate paper!" and all the children laughed.

A few months later, Snoopy became very ill with pneumonia and passed away. Maria was very very sad, but she always had fond and happy memories of her goat, Snoopy.

Maria and the chickens

Maria had an interesting relationship with the poultry on the farm. There were chicken, ducks and geese - and sometimes even guinea hens.

Maria often had to gather the eggs from the chicken coop - a job she really liked. She would enter the hut and look for eggs in each little nest - sometimes they would still be warm.. She would add them to a basket and bring them to the house. If she did not have a basket, she would gather them in her shirt or dress and hope she didn't fall on the way back to the house.

Maria and her brother Tomas were often asked to feed and water the ducks and chickens. They would enter the large area fenced in with chicken wire with a bucket of feed. They would spread the feed and the birds would surround them pecking at the ground by their feet. They would then fill the water trough. This was a big old sink in the ground and the ducks would sometimes swim in it. If they let the water overflow, it would create rivers in the dirt yard of the pen. Maria and Tomas would build cities around the rivers and play with their toy cars and trucks. All the while the ducks and chickens would wander around looking at the kids playing in their space.

The geese were always mean and aggressive - honking as loud as possible should anyone get near them. Maria was pretty good at avoiding the geese - but Tomas was pecked more than a few times by their sharp beaks.

In the autumn, Maria's father would slaughter the chickens for food. Maria understood this and was always there to watch. Every time a chicken had it's head cut off, the body would still be alive and would run around the yard in unpredictable frenzy. Maria would run away and scream - always sure the headless chickens were chasing her - which of course they were not. She did this every time...

Maria loved to watch the guinea hens. She thought they were so exotic looking. Here is what they look like:

Maria's favorite thing though was when the baby ducks and chicks would hatch in the spring. The eggs were kept in an incubator and the family would watch them hatch. It was so amazing to watch the little beaks peck a hole in the eggshell and watch them slowly emerge from the shell, damp and shaky. Maria loved the sound of the peeps and chirps and holding the fuzzy yellow chicks and the soft brown and yellow baby ducks.

Maria and the fish

Maria has always loved animals - all types. When she was young and lived on the farm, she was always looking in on the animals to see what they were doing. She would feed old vegetables to the pigs. She would chase the ducks and chickens. She could often be found holding the kittens and petting the cats. She loved her father's dog, Chip. a large black Labrador with the sweetest temperament.

About once a month or so, Maria's father would go fishing on the weekend. He would go out early on a Saturday morning and would be gone almost all day, returning just before dinner. Being that she was so small, Maria was unable to go with her father and would wait at home with her mother and her brothers and sisters. Maria was always excited when her mother said her father was bringing home fish.

While Maria's father was fishing, he would place any fish he caught in a bucket filled with water to keep them alive. When he returned home, he would transfer the fish to a filled bathtub. Maria would watch the fish swim around the tub with delight. She would get so excited, she would babble to her brother and sister about the fish and smile and giggle all the while. It was always a treat for Maria.

Maria never knew what happened to the fish when they went bye-bye. However, the family always enjoyed their dinner on those nights.

Maria of the winding blankets

When Maria could not play outdoors because of rain or snow, she loved to play make-believe. She had quite an imagination and did not need much in way of toys or props to amuse herself.

She would wrap herself up in blankets and scarves and shawls and become the main character in her own stories. It might be a fairy princess in a castle, or a nun in a convent in the Alps, or the woman from the Bible who wiped Jesus' face. Maria was always lost in her stories and would entertain herself fairly well.

One day, during a rainstorm, Maria twirled the blankets around her and draped one over her head. As she marched slowly down the center of the living room, her brother Miguel was passing by. With a quizzical look on his face, he asked Maria, "What are you doing?"

Maria was shaken out of her make-believe land and answered matter-of-factly, "I am getting married."

Miguel said, "Wait - I have an idea. I will be right back."

Maria was stunned as Miguel never paid much attention to her and rarely wanted to play with her. So she waited patiently.

Miguel returned shortly with his Sunday suit on. He even had a fake flower in the button hole. He looked at Maria and said, "I will be the groom."

At this point, Maria's sister, Juanita, passed by and caught on quickly to what was happening. Juanita wanted to join in and quickly wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. She said, "I can be the priest and marry you!"

Miguel found a box of silk flowers for Maria to hold. Juanita found a Bible to hold. Then Miguel and Juanita sang out the wedding march as Maria walked down the aisle again. "Don don duh don, don don duh don..."

Juanita performed a wonderful ceremony and Maria's mother took a picture of the wedding party afterwards. Maria was delighted that her older brother and sister spent the afternoon with her and her imagination.

Second Grade

Maria lived in a small community with one elementary school. In this school, there were only a few classrooms for each grade. Many of the teachers worked in the school for a very long time. Maria's older sisters and brother went to this school before Maria and knew many of the teachers. In fact, Katrina (Maria's oldest sister) had the same second grade teacher as Maria - but five years earlier.

Now it is important to note here that Maria and her brothers and sisters all looked very much alike. In fact, sometimes it was hard to tell Maria and Katrina apart in old photographs.

The first day that Maria went to second grade, the teacher called role to start the day and to get to know her students' names. When she called Maria, Maria raised her hand and said. "Here." The teacher looked closely at Maria. Then she said, "You look very much like a little girl I taught before named Katrina."

Maria smiled and said, "Yes, Katrina is my older sister."

The teacher smiled and moved on to the next name on the role.

Over the next few months, Maria was happy in school, but disappointed that the teacher never called on her for questions. In fact, the teacher barely said Maria's name ever.

One day, Maria's mother was called into school for a parent/teacher conference. Maria's teacher had scheduled a meeting with Maria's mother to discuss Maria's progress in second grade.

Maria's mother came home very worried about Maria. She asked Maria to sit down and asked her why she was not listening to the teacher. Maria's mother told her that the teacher has repeatedly called her name and Maria has ignored her.

Maria was surprised and said, "Mother, I do listen to the teacher. I always answer the teacher when she calls my name."

Maria's mother was baffled. She called the teacher and talked with her some more. In the middle of the conversation, the teacher asked Maria's mother to encourage Katrina to pay more attention. It was at that moment that her mother realized that the teacher had been calling Maria - Katrina.

Maria and her mother had a plan. When Maria returned to school, she began to answer to both Katrina and Maria. When he teacher would call Katrina, Maria would ask her if she meant Maria. The teacher began to realize her mistake and Maria was never accused of not paying attention again.

May Day

When Maria was small, she lived in the northern state of Michigan - a state where there are proper seasons. As you may have guessed, Maria loved the outdoors, especially during the spring and summer. She loved the soft breeze and the bright sun. She loved the smell of rain showers and fresh grass and blooming flowers.

Maria would roam around the farm, picking fruits and vegetables whenever she was hungry - whatever was in season. She would always look for flowers to braid into crowns. She even thought dandelions were beautiful in a braided crown. When the bluebells would bloom in the side garden, she would sing the rhyme:
"Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? With bluebells and cockleshells and pretty maidens all in a row."
She especially loved the heavy sweet lilacs that grew on a vine on the side of the house.

On May Day, every year, Maria would roll a large piece of paper into a cone. Then she would tape or staple a handle to the top of the cone. She would walk around the farm and gather all the flowers she could find and would fill up the cone. Then she would hang the May Basket on the doorknob, ring the doorbell and quickly hide in the bushes.

Maria's mother would open the door and look around to see who was there. Then she would see the May Basket and her eyes would light up with surprise and she would smile. Maria always giggled, unable to contain her excitement and happiness.

Maria's mother would take the flowers inside and place them in a vase on the counter. Maria would come indoors and her mother would point out the flowers saying, "Maria - look what someone left on the door!"

Maria would smile big and say, "They are so pretty."

She never told her mother who left the flowers there.

Mud Pies

When Maria was four years old, she loved to be outdoors.

Sometimes her father would take her for walks around the farm. She would reach up her arm and grab hold of his pinky, wrapping her little fingers around it as they walked. He would point at things for her to see like the fruit in the tree or a bird flying over head. Sometimes he would carry her on his shoulders and she felt she could touch the sky. Maria would watch her father at whatever he would do whether it was fixing a piece of fence or looking at the corn.

Other times, Maria would play outdoors with her little brother, Tomas. They would run around the grass playing chase. They would explore the gardens. They would pet the dogs and cats. They would go into the chicken and duck pen to play in the water trough. Most of all, they loved to play in the sandbox. The sandbox was shaped like a boat and even had benches in it. It was in between an apple and a pear tree and the leaves always provided a dappled shade over the sandbox.

One day, as they played in the sand, Maria had an idea. She poured some water from a pail into the sand. She picked up some of the wet sand with her hands and placed it onto a plastic plate. She smoothed it across the plate until it was covered with the mud. Then she placed the plate in front of Tomas and said, "Tomas, here is your mud pie."

Tomas looked at the pie and then took a bite. He spit it out and yelled, "Hey - that's dirt!"

Maria said, "Yeah, it's a mud pie."

Tomas ran into the house calling, "Mommy! Maria made me eat a mud pie!"

Maria's mother scolded Maria, "Do not feed your brother mud pies."

Then she scolded Maria's brother, "Do not eat Maria's mud pies."

Staircase at Night

When Maria was very tiny, she shared a large attic room with her two older sisters, Katrina and Juanita. The door to their room was at the top of a long narrow staircase. Maria mostly liked her room, but was a little scared of the stairs, because she was so tiny.

Sometimes at night, Maria would wake up from a bad dream. She would go to each of her sisters' beds, but they would not wake up. She really wanted to be with her mother, but her mother's bedroom was downstairs.

Maria gathered up her blanket (it was soft yellow with satin trim) and hugged it to her little body. Then she gathered her courage and opened the bedroom door to the dark staircase.

Maria sat on the top step and stared down the stairs. It was so dark and so far down. She hugged her blanket again and scooted her bottom down to the first step.

Now the hard part came - she stood up, turned around and stretched her hand to the doorknob. She wrapped her fingers around it and pulled the door towards her until it closed all of the way. Then she pressed her body to the door as she slowly turned her body around on the narrow top step. With her back now to the door, she slid back down onto her bottom.

Maria took a deep breath. She slowly bumped her way down the stairs on her bottom - one at a time. When she reached the end of the staircase, Maria stood up on the black and red checked linoleum floor in her bare feet. She scampered down the hallway to her parents' bedroom, dragging her yellow blanket behind her.

Maria stood at the door and called, "Mommy?" But there was no answer.

Maria lifted her little fist and tapped on the door with her knuckles. Maria's mother's voice came through the wood of the door, "Who is it?"

Maria answered softly, "Maria...I had a bad dream."

Maria's mother opened the door and scooped Maria up in her arms. She gave her a big hug. Then she lay down in her bed, with Maria right next to her. She pulled the covers up and snuggled Maria to her. Maria squeezed her cold little feet and tiny toes in between her mother's warm legs and fell asleep - safe and happy - sweet as an angel.