rugrats
12.23.02 // 2:28 p.m.

I should start with the oldest, the leader of the pack, Kristin, the bossy 7 year old know it all. She�s only the leader because she�s older than my cousin, Valerie, by a few months. Valerie and Kristin swear they�re best friends and can�t be pulled apart whenever they visit. It�s not unusual that they get along so well, both are tall, too skinny and talk too much for their own good.

Next, you got Sammy the second of the g�eras, who runs around jumping on the kids from the high school crew. She complains of a headache because of all the people over and I wonder if little kids even get headaches or if she�s just echoing the words her mother, Liz, used to tell me when we were kids. My cousin Liz, about 6 years my senior, never liked me. She always seemed to resent my presence. Later, I figured out with the help of another cousin, Tony, that she was just jealous of me.

Liz and her husband (un g�ero) have three kids, Kristin, Sammy and the two year old, Jacob. I almost forgot about this kid, and I�m sure he doesn�t know me since he only sees me twice a year tops. He�s not too much, and always seems grumpy� like his mom!

Although the rugrat crew isn�t complete (at least not at Saturday�s party where Star and David were missing) I can�t leave out Lizette and Betito. Lizette is the tiny soon to be five-year-old daughter of my cousin�s wife, Monica. Lizette can be pretty bratty like the other girls, but her brother is everyone�s favorite. The newest addition to the family is Betito.

Betito is everyone�s favorite, and if you saw the kid, you�d have no reason to doubt it. He�s got the looks and the good attitude. Yo calls it character. One huge plus for this 18 month old is that he�s the first son, of a first son, of a first son. Confused? Well, Chepe and Mam� Toni�s third child was my T�o Beto, and he was the first son. T�o Beto and my T�a Ana had Bobby, their second kid and only son (I like him more than his sister, Liz). Now, Bobby and Monica had Betito. Although Betito is not the first kid of the 4th generation, he is the first one to carry the family name.

This is the name I didn�t get because my mother took my father�s last name. Now I really figure out why Danny was Grandma�s preferido. He has the same distinction on my Dad�s side (1st son of a 1st son).

Back to the kids, they run around the house bothering and amusing everyone. They get in little arguments and call out to their mom�s. �Mom, Sammy won�t let me play with the ______ [insert toy here].� They jump on the beds, pose for the cameras, and make too much noise. At times, I think the house could double as a kindergarten classroom.

This is only a pre-Christmas Eve gathering, just a run through. On Noche Buena we�ll get together and things will be even crazier. More songs, gifts, games, food, and a Santa Clause that the rugrat crew has long since figured out is really one of their uncles in a red costume.

This is my family, or part of it. The rugrats, the pre-teens, the high schoolers, the twenty-somethings, the newlyweds (2), the marathon marriage couples (5), and then there�s me.

I feel like Lala in Caramelo. I�m the one who�s not in the pictures and videos. I�m only there to chronicle it all in writing from her spot at the festively decorated, but deserted dining table.

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Me siento: simple
Escuchando: "guavaberry" by juan luis guerra

M�s reciente:
Searches - 09.16.05
the big move - 07.29.05
mother and daughter: a comparative analysis - 07.28.05
jardineros y dom�sticas - 07.27.05
tough question - 07.25.05

antes // despu�s


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