Is there one person in your teen years who really changed the course of your life by something they said or did? ~Family History Tuesday~

My mom never liked cooking.  She did it because she understood and took that responsibility to feed her family seriously.

I understand now that her dislike for cooking kept her from having any patience with us in the kitchen.  It was easier and faster for her to just do everything herself than to try and teach us.

One afternoon, my mom had invited some guests over to eat with us.  She called me in to the kitchen to cut up a tomato for a salad.  It was a task I had never really completed.  My Mom would usually call us in to help her because the guests were already there and she had fallen behind. It probably didn't help that we had the smallest kitchen ever in our home. Two people felt crowded in there. 

I reluctantly took the knife she handed me and tried to cut the tomato without smushing it with every slice I made.  It wasn't working too well.  My mom caught a glimpse of what I was doing and raised her voice to me asking "Don't you know how to cut a tomato?"

This immediately unnerved me and I stopped cutting just as one of the guests, Milagros, stepped in the kitchen.  I'm sure she saw my exasperated look and caught my mom's tone in the question she had just asked me.

Milagros calmly asked my mom to be more patient and then said that even though I may not be good at this right now, one day I would and that she was sure there were a lot of other things I was good at. Then she stood next to me as she took the time explain to me how to cut the tomato for a salad.

Milagros' comments that day did have a great affect on me. As any teenager I was hyper aware of all my faults. Her words that day helped me realize that even though I may not be good at something right now, some day I would be.  And even if I wasn't good at something, there were other things I was definitely good at.

Thank you Milagros! Today I am a good tomato cutter. No more smushing!

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{Family History Tuesday prompt found at designzbydede}

What was your favorite Saturday activity as a child? ~Family History Tuesday~

Saturday mornings usually consisted of me planted in front of the  TV with my brother and two sisters at my side.  We'd delve into the dramas of JOHNNY QUEST, the SUPER FRIENDS (Wonder Twin powers, activate!), KIMBA and a whole assortment of other cartoon shows I can't seem to remember at the moment.

Then, after breakfast and with the promise of an afternoon trip, we'd reluctantly do our household chores.

For me, plans to go see a cultural craft, watch a foreign dance or view the Star-Spangled Banner, the flag that inspired our national anthem, were enough to get me going.  Living so close to the big city, there were always Folklife Festivals, never-ending Museums and a Zoological Park nearby.

As I think back on our adventurous Saturday afternoons, I can picture us all sitting on the planter ledges, outside in the hot sun and moist air, with aching feet and empty tummies. My mom magically pulls out of her purse a sandwich for each of us!  and with each bite I quickly relive all I experienced as I watch the many tourists loaded with souvenirs, their cameras and tired children pass us by. Then my mom starts to peel open an orange and hands us a wedge or two to end our long, fantastic day.

{Family History Tuesday prompts at designzbydede}

Who do you act more like, your mom or dad? ~Family History Tuesday~

Here's a list of me and which parent I get it from:


- can spend hours & hours browsing among books, movies, music =Dad
- can spend hours and hours reading =Dad
- could eat out any day =Dad
- laid back and relaxed =Dad
- has no problem spending time alone =Mom
- enjoys absorbing as much as one can at a festival or fair =Mom
- delights in crafts and appreciates other people's creativity =Mom
-will forego housework to do any of the above =Mom

{ Find Family History Tuesday prompts at designzbydede}