©Victor RodriguezIt may be easy to say but to have a 94th birthday is something that many don’t experience. Only a chosen few are those who get to celebrate that age, yes the big 94!

I don’t even know how to start; I don’t know what the best introduction may be for someone who has greatly impacted and shaped my life. Someone who rarely said a ‘no’ to my wishes. Wishes that were sometimes too important, especially every time I would go with her to the supermarket.

Many Saturdays, my adventure would be called “Terry’s Pharmacy.” This was my grandparent’s pharmacy and our mission with my grandma was to arrive at lunchtime to have lunch with my grandpa. Sometimes we would bring food, or I would have the esteemed 9-year-old privilege of choosing the menu for the day (hamburgers, fried chicken, and pizza). By the time my grandpa would finish his day’s work, we then went out for dessert for a vanilla ice cream on a waffle cone. And to this day it’s my preferred flavor of choice. I don’t think it’s the predictability of the flavor; I think it’s the perfect excuse to remember the gray colored Jeep, a pharmacy, my small place of rest at the foot of their bed, but above anything else to remind myself of my grandparents.

Their bedtime stories would allow me to go back in time and savor a rich Guatemala with so much history. Without a television, I was able to get a front-seat view of my uncles and grandparents en route to Totonicapan or Mazatenango, armed with sandwiches and a coffee thermos made by my grandmother. But, I can’t share these lines without showing off my grandmother’s cooking. Her soups, dishes but more than anything else, no one, makes beans like my grandmother’s, they smell, shine, I don’t know if it’s the oil she uses or the love she makes them with, but they’re perfect.

There are so many anecdotes with my grandmother, hugs, kisses, laughs, strokes, and jokes. It’s normal; I grew up at her side in the 2nd Sector of Guatemala. She was at the front row seat many of my life-changing chapters: my first day of school, my graduation, and when I moved to California when it would be just 6 months of living here and then would turn to years. 10 years went by without being able to see my grandmother, without being able to embrace her, to taste the beans she makes, to tell her that I loved her. The blessed day came when I was able to go back to Guatemala. My dad and sister came up with the grand idea to surprise her by not mentioning my arrival. I came back to the house 10 years later to her complete surprise. Our re-encounter that we had was magical, I have no words to describe it, we embraced like never before, and an embrace that made up for all those years we never hugged. It was a blessing to be able to see her and to tell her in person how much I care for her. It’s in that same way that it’s a blessing for me to be able to dedicate a few lines to her, which don’t do justice to how much she means to me. I don’t know how to conclude these few paragraphs, but I believe that the best way is to tell her Happy Birthday Abuelita Tini, your grandson loves you, Chito.

PS: Thank you for spoiling me including our spontaneous dancing in the kitchen.

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