Almost 8 months old:
We are in love with this guy. Each day is even better than the last.An afternoon with Javier:
We spent a recent afternoon with Javier, who is staying at the diocesan home for priests in Oviedo while he recovers from hip surgery. Javier baptized Mateo last October, is one of the priests who married us almost 3 years ago, and is a very dear friend.
Above, a view from the sunroom on the roof of the diocesan house. The tower of the Cathedral of Oviedo (where we were married) is seen in the background.
A poignant interaction unfolded while we soaked in our surroundings in this sunroom: Mateo was toddling back and forth in the sunlit passageway, grasping our hands for balance. Meanwhile, one of the elderly priests who lives in the home was slowly shuffling back and forth down this same sunny passage, supported on both sides by two younger priests who gently assisted him. When we all crossed paths, the older priest stopped and smiled. He pointed to Mateo and said, "the beginning," paused and pointed to himself, "and the end." He smiled again and slowly continued on his way. May we all be at such peace with life's course and accepting of the circularity of it all, the way that "the end" begins to look very much like "the beginning."
A breathtaking view of the Cathedral and its surroundings. The tile-roofed terrace and wooden-framed window panes seen at the bottom right of the picture belong to the music conservatory where Bernardo studied for 8 years.A Saturday in Gijón:
Mateo in pursuit of the latest fiction...
...and in the children's section with Papá.The most recent cousin hand-me-down:
Please appreciate the intermingling of Mateo's multiple multi-colored plastic accessories and his grandfather's stately wood and marble furniture. Thank you, Mario, for letting this munchkin take over your living room.What Bernardo brought home from Salamanca:
An Iberian ham (jamón ibérico)! Weighing just a bit less than Mateo, and measuring a bit longer, this ham is of the bellota variety, meaning that at the end of this pig's life its diet was restricted to acorns. This kind of ham may just be the most delicious thing that any of us has ever tasted. You need not ask what we will be having for dinner, and as an appetizer for all other meals, for the next several weeks. (No joke.)Behind Berni's right shoulder shines the crowning achievement of this kitchen: the fruit sticker collection. Approximately 26 years ago, Bernardo put the sticker from a piece of fruit onto the kitchen wall. His mother, Mercedes, began to do the same every time that she brought home a piece of fruit with a different sticker. We all continue to do so now each time that we spot a unique sticker on the fruit that we bring home. It has become a colorful gastronomical history of this family and an interesting narrative of Spanish fruit and importation. We do wonder, though, how much longer this almost 30-year family tradition will last in the presence of the small pair of hands that has recently become very attracted to the colors and convenient placement of these stickers and has taken to trying to pull them off at every opportunity. Stay tuned.
Hanging out with abuelo:
These two really do bring out the best in one another. It only takes a few minutes in their presence to pick up on this endearing reality.
3 comments:
Oh my word, do I really get to have this angel of angels living with me for three months (granted, his mom and dad! are going to be tagging along for the third month...)...and that mom and dad (the two archangels) for that third month?! Looking at your poignant photos (first time that I have "sat a spell" at this computer in a few weeks) I think that I should start preparing a room for Abuelo Mario. And for Roberto, who I truly do believe would be the first person to jump onto an airplane and head for New York...well, we're just going to keep working on those miles. If this is not life, as it was created to be, what is? I can not say it as well as either of you in either words or pictures, you both say it so beautifully (you do hear Gram talking to you again, don't you?) I savor every last moment for the Canga family with the three of you and at the same time can't wait for your arrival here. I intentionally do not say "return", because I don't believe that you will ever be "anchored" in any one place. I think that good hearts are hard to "anchor". (But on that note, Jose, do you want to "throw down" on an apartment in Gijon with us???)
In any of your "un-time", if you want to put any of these last posting photos on Shutterfly, I assure you that they will be ordered and shared.
I could not say it better than Tia Anna. Reading your posts is a holy experience. And I cannot believe my fortune. mom
I think I'll just have my book club read your latest entries for our next month's book. Then maybe our congregation could read it for the weekly sermon, then the Reedsville High School staff could read it for an in-service on how children should be raised and a new awareness of life as it should be... I hope you are printing and saving all of these entries for Mateo and his future siblings...Thank you for sharing your life with us! Love, Tia Anna
Alex, thank you for serializing the magic of your family life. It does my heart good to see Mateo already prowling around bookstores. And I love that he seems to have developed a sense of skepticism, though likely fleeting a marker of an astute and engaged intellect, and nontheless beautifully captured in the photos with Roberto and the great leg of ham. Glad to see, as well, that he appears to have recovered from his recent innauguration with a virus!
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