A Picture Full of Memories

 December of 1956 my father took this picture before we attended midnight mass. I hated to have my picture taken and that is clearly shown in the photograph. I was eighteen years old, my brother was nineteen and my little brother was ten years old. He seems to be the only one happy to have his picture taken! I must have been wearing heels because my brother is taller than I am though I look taller in the picture! I remember the color of Mom's olive green dress and my dark tan dress with ivory colored stripes.

Every year, our Christmas mass was celebrated at midnight and it was always packed. I remember having to arrive at the church at least half an hour before the mass would begin. As I look at the picture memories float around in my head. How my mother loved flowers on the wall, in vases filled with colorful plastic flowers, oil cloth table cloth with either fruit or flowers and floral curtains. The star on top of the Christmas tree is one that I still use whenever I put up a tree. After mass my mother would prepare a large breakfast: Pork chops, eggs, fried potatoes, homemade tortillas, beans and green chili. Breakfast would end around four in the morning and then we would open our gifts. In those days it was just one gift per person! I cannot remember what I got but I am guessing clothes. We would go to bed around six and get up around eleven. 

We would get ready to visit my aunt Maria and her husband Casimiro. They lived across town from us and I enjoyed eating the blue corn cheese enchiladas that she prepared and she would give us a couple of jars of peaches that she had canned. Dad and Casimiro enjoyed drinking alcoholic drinks!  I don't know if it was beer, wine or whiskey but my Dad would get high! I do remember that my cousin Mary was not very friendly and she and an adopted cousin, Rosie, would exclude me from their conversations! Before my grandmother had a stroke my aunt Kika, Rosie and my grandmother would also join us at Tia Maria's house. 

"You may not think

you have a good memory,

but

you remember what's

important to you."

Rick Warren