The Musings of a Latte Queen: Narratives of Everyday Life

I am sitting in a bakery, sipping a vanilla caramel hazelnut latte, watching the people, feeling the sun, and thinking about the week. This is holy week.  Of major importance to Jews and Christians.  Passover began on Monday and Christians of all denominations are engaging in rituals leading up to Sunday. In all this, I started to think about the events that led to this week. Last week, the weather was up and down and it was spring break for my children.  Last week, elected officials were hurling insults and trying to deny health coverage to children.  Last week, tea party protestors were calling elected officials every racial and homophobic epithet you could imagine.  Last week felt like alot of hate was in the air. Some of those same self-proclaimed voices for the unborn, adherents to conservative doctrine, proponents of a faith-based country were definitely not acting like Jesus.  Now this week, you bet you can find some of them in their church p...

At this late hour, on this Sunday, during Spring Break, history happened! 219 votes in the House of Representatives to accept the Senate Bill is now on its way to the President of the United States to make sure my little girl will always have health care!  It is historic to see this.  It is major sweeping social legislation and it is fantastic that this first woman Speaker of the House kept fighting for it!  It does sometimes take a woman to get it done.  And that this happened under this historic presidency. Thank you President Obama for bringing this to my family. Republicans will be sorry they did not cast votes for people.  Hatred has no place and illness knows no color or party.  This was relevant for ALL Americans. Life is for the living and health care is for the living, we need to take care of the children who are alive!!!!

This was not a good morning for my eight-year-old daughter. It started badly with breakfast. "Ugh, I'm NOT eating that."  And so the battle began. Of course I knew it wasn't about the really good, rich, and creamy bowl of non-allergic hot cereal I made for her little sister (and she and I), it was about her thinking her little sister was getting more attention that she.  And, I think she may be right. The princess, aptly named because she was the first girl to come along after four boys, was feeling as if her mother didn't love her as much.  I could tell the pouty look on her face and her feigning illness yesterday when I was battling a cold, she wanted to stay home.  There was more to the story. "Look, I'm eating the same breakfast, and guess what, you can even put chocolate sprinkles on it."  I tried to be my cheery best even with minimal sleep and a busy day ahead.  We were running late and didn't need her throwing a tween fit. ...

I remember the old days when kids revered and respected their elders.  Remember those days?  When Mr. Sam or Mrs. Esther down the block could tell you to behave, hey, they could even spank you if you were out of line and then tell your parents before you could even wrap it around your mind to sassy-mouth them and say, "I'm gonna tell my mama!"  Remember those days when kids were respectful of their elders and understood the meaning of discipline, honor, respect, and just plain behaving? I wanted to tell not only my daughter, my son, but my grandson's mother to go out back and cut a switch down from the tree so they could get an old fashioned spanking! You remember the ones that left your behind a little stingy and your eyes a little misty but you tried your hardest to not cry.  The ones where your mother was out-of-breath from preaching to you about the evils of disobedience while you two did this funny one arm dance around the family room.  You know the o...

This morning I woke up to the unusual quiet of my son still in bed.  Usually this kid is racing up and down the stairs getting ready for school.  This does not happen miraculously, it is after the heavy pounding of my husband's fist on his bedroom door, followed by his deep commands to "get ready for school."  None of that assaulted my dreams this morning.  I woke up at 6:38am and decided to skip my now morning routine of working out beside my bed.  I jumped in the shower and when I came out, still quiet.  What was going on? I dressed - makeup and hair - and opened the bedroom door, even my husband was quiet downstairs.  A knock on the teen's bedroom door was met with quiet.  I opened the door, "Hey Joshua!  It is 6:54am!  Get up and get ready for school."  "Ma, we don't have school, snow day."  "No Joshua, there is school."  "Ma, really, they called...didn't you hear the phone???"  I looked at him quizzically and w...

I have been trolling the online news reports, alternating between Huffingtonpost, CNN, MSNBC, and facebook, to stay abreast about Haiti.  And I feel helpless.  I am here, in my warm bedroom, having just showered and put on fresh pajamas, sipping an herbal tea, and all I can do is pray and text donations. I.am.so.immensely.blessed. The hours have turned into days and the anguish is still fresh. It has been almost two centuries since my foremother was kidnapped from her native Dominican Republic and my forefathers fled Saint Domingue (Haiti) during the revolution. Yet, my heart is in Hispaniola.  It is my identity, if not for there, New Orleans and St. Louis never would have happened. So yes, in response to my friends, it does bother me that this earthquake happened there.  To a people already punished by the western powers for daring to standing up to French tyranny and mulatto indifference to become a nation of freed slaves - by force.  They realized i...

Happy New Year!  It is officially 1/1/2010 at 12:02am.  A new year, a new day. What will 2010 brings as we also celebrate the decade of a new century?  Will dreams come true?  Will challenges be met?  Will change happen? I sat quietly and meditated for a moment and then my eight-year-old daughter ran into the room with her youthful exuberance to wish me happy new year.  I started off this year with the unconditional love and acceptance from the little girl who captured my heart.  Moments after that in came the six-year-old daughter with her happy joie d'vie and proceeded to dance in the new year.  She is the smile that crosses my face and the twinkle in my eye. Even as the year as turned the pages of the decade, I take a moment to reflect on the things that are different.  My youngest son, a teenager now, is bringing in the new year with his friends.  My middle son already celebrated the new year almost a day ago as he is in Japan....