a winter day

it wasn't my typical holiday this past december. i spent a lot of time in new york with my sister and her family and it was such a refreshing time for me. it was really cold and special. every morning i would wake up and look out the window, touch that chilly glass and just look out to the busy streets of the bronx. people bundled up would pass by seemingly comfortable with their city and their weather. 

with this scene as a background, i would grab my book - which at the time was The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - and a nice cup of coffee. A perfect compliment to my time in the bronx. [If you are interested in dominican history and dominicans in new york, this would be a good book for you. ]

being dominican myself, i felt so wrapped up in a bubble of my culture that i hadn't sensed in awhile. this little hole in new york, this little corner where my sister lives is full of dominicans and the culture, the food, the hair parlors, the smells and the coffee. oh the coffee. 

you see dominican people are special. our homes are decorated differently. our food is seasoned differently and for the women, it's all about the hair. and we work real hard at it. i mean caribbean girls have extremely curly hair or extremely nappy hair or nice easy-care waves. nonetheless, the norm is mostly the tight kinky curls - sample picture above - which needs a lot of work to straighten out. unlike most of the dominican women in my life and the majority of the dominican women in the island, i happily style my natural hair. you see, curly hair is not typically the accepted style. mostly women spend hours and tons of money at hair salons to get rid of curls, while i spent tons of hours and money trying to maintain my curls. i've come accross comments from the family pleading with me to get a perm to straighten it out. 

ugh, being there done that and it doesn't fit me. you see my hair is a special part of me.

to my surprise i saw plenty of girls with their natural hair in new york. even in the cold. which i thought would be difficult to maneuver, but actually it made my hair perfect. i live in a humid sunshine state where the curls usually don't feel very welcomed. but new york and it's cold, freakishly cold weather, loved it. all this surely made me feel at home. a home away from home.

i enjoyed the time with family and family that are more like an extended family, because you'll notice that everyone is your cousin when you are domincan, or hispanic period. 

it was just what i needed to end a tough year. i needed a sense of home, a sense of assurance, of warmth in a cup and those crazy hugs from a 4 year old who loves her auntie. i needed this time away to recover and uncover more truth about me and my identity. i also needed the days of just nothing but warm woolly socks, continuous coffee and continuous reading. i was completely disconnected - i accidentally left my iphone back home and being without it for about 4 days was the most liberating of experiences. 

and then there was snow. it was actually very little those days i was there, but one day it decided to rain and then some snow and i just had to go outside and enjoy. it was freezing for me. but it was beautiful. and i loved it so. it's truly the little things that count. 

it lingers.

im so glad that the feeling has not yet gone. there's gift boxes everywhere. bagged cookies. wine bottles that arrived as gifts and are yet to be consumed, if ever. gift bags stuffed with gifts. and tons of left overs. tons. and the sweet air in the atmosphere is still engrossing us, reminding us that it will soon end, but nonetheless, caressing us with its lullaby that speaks peace, joy and love.

the office party

my boss (and his wife) really know how to set the Christmas joy in the office. there's lots of pastries and cookies and candy to go around. and i can't forget the christmas decorations, gifts and a santa hat, which im still trying to figure out how to wear with my oversize curly hair (ha!). after the celebrations we are off to our holiday break. what a great way to kick off the holiday celebrations! im so jolly (to say the least)!!

hot chocolate night

tonight has been just beautiful.

after a long.busy.tedious day at work, i took a nice walk with my aunt who always provides for great conversations. there's nothing better than history. history evolves, history returns. it's so refreshing to hear from the people of old, the ones who paved the way for us. and it pays off that while i workout my body her words give my mind a challenge of sorts. her kind words, her faith, her simple outlook at life, how she laughs and the way she enjoyed her youth. when i look at her now, i could not see that social girl in her. she had a wild side as a young woman growing up in new york. She danced, she led a hispanic club in her college, she dressed fashionably, she made great bonds and took care of family and married late for the time, but she doesnt regret it a bit because as she said she lived her seasons well.

she lived her seasons well. beautifully put.

she married at 27. today im her age and have no such plans as of yet. and hearing her words i feel good about it. at 27 she enjoyed her seasons well. she had so much more life in her years at that time than i could account for in my 27. and well i guess it makes sense when Abe Lincoln says "that is not the years in your life that count, but the life in your years." and as she did, i want to reach my next season of life ready and well lived. god uses every season in our lives for a purpose. even if that purpose is just growth to enable us to fit the mold of the next one. and in every season we should enjoy the moment. the good and the bad. the lovely and the ugly.

my season at 27 is one of progressive growth. surrender. accomplishing self-control. beautification. acceptance. and embracing real love.

not the easiest mountain to climb. but at the end of the road it will be worth the journey.

it's also a time of taking new steps. embracing new challenges. flirting with happiness. laughing hysterically. fighting the woes. singing in the rain and sipping hot chocolate on lazy evenings, leisurely.

such is life. 

rainy day inspration

wishy washy

counting your blessings

some times great lessons come in little packages. they are not necessarily nicely wrapped, like an engagement ring that you recognize right away. and sometimes they are not pretty at all or even easy to unwrap. but nonetheless the reward within, it's worth opening. i enjoy getting these little treasures, but unfortunately i dont recognize their worth until ive gone through the process of discovering them. unwrapping them. analyzing them and then truly acknowledging how they've changed me. it's like God intended to make some rewards difficult to attain, because in that difficulty, in that struggle, you pay a price for a reward. and once that price is paid, that thing you worked for, has an unmeasurable price. it's priceless. you've earned it with your work and determination. this weekend i enjoyed one of those little surprises. and it came in the form of a little church, in literally a-whole-in-the-wall. no offense intended. the place was so little, packed with fervent worshipers, lacking proper AC, lacking projectors, appropriate sound equipment and instruments (as perhaps we would assume in comparison to our own church), and using the hallway of the small plaza crowded with businesses as their fellowship hall. of course the service occurred at night, allowing them the liberty to do that. and i was so impressed by the humility these believers showed as they celebrated joyfully their three year anniversary in this same location. and i know their road and struggle has not been easy, but they remain faithful. jp and i were invited to sing and share a moment of worship with them.



but in reality they were the ones to gift me a special moment as i was passed on this little treasure i would call gratitude. and this little  box has just been opened and there's still much more left to unwrap as i reach the true value of this gift. of the ability to be grateful for all things during all circumstances. but also as i learn to count the blessings i have in my life that i dont appreciate enough, like been able to worship God every sunday in ample space with cool air conditioning and no sweat to distract me. and it encouraged me to move forward with what has become a two-week decluterring streak in my room. ive been slowly working my way simplifying and giving away some things. little did i know that boxes and tons of bags later i'd stil be left with too much. "too-much" that i often labeled as not-enough. but this little church shed some light and moved me to see my blessings for what they are worth and share them with those who lack so much.