Three years

It's been over three years since Nacho's mom Mercedes has been to visit us in New York.  Carolina was just entering the world, in fact abuela was integral to her safe arrival as she helped run the household as we spent time in the hospital with a new baby.  She stayed for six weeks that time, and it was late summer and hot as the dickens.  We've seen her six times in the interim, all trips we've managed to squeeze in to Spain with two kids and limited vacation days. It seems like such a lot of time when I add it all up now.  But no matter, it's never enough. So when Nacho managed to make it to Spain last week for a wedding, he decided to bring his mom back with him on the flight benefits she never uses. Nothing like a little spontaneous visit to perk up our where-the-hell-is-spring doldrums. And it's nice to see the girls spend time with her. They don't always jump at the chance to speak Spanish but since abuela speaks no English, they have to try. So much communication is understood with jus smiles and hugs and laughter. There's been a lot of that this week too. I'm grateful for the time we get to spend with her whenever we get it. Just this week she marked her 50th wedding anniversary (3/20) which brought us all a somewhat somber reminder of just how time can fly.  Just 11 years into her marriage, she was widowed and has been plowing ahead every since. She really is a bundle of energy that needs constant work to stay content, and I've been happy to oblige the cooking and cleaning duties around here. Lord knows I can use the help.  I'm hoping this summer we can make our way to Spain again for another round of visits with the family and a dip in the pool--or better yet, beach.  The girls are really missing their cousins and it would be wonderful to see Amaia in her last bit of pregnancy. We'll see how things shape up, but for now at least we have brought a little bit of Spain to us. And that's what counts.