Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
Daughter of the Sea
She wakes before the sun, eyes quickly adjusting to the cool darkness that will slowly fill with the quiet, early movements of the island. She rises and heads downstairs to take the buckets for collecting the neighbors’ leftovers; pigs’ feed that will sell for a little extra, and proceeds to quickly make her rounds on the empty streets of the town. She likes the early mornings and the quiet. This island is home, playground, work place and school but in these hours, it was peace.
By Renee Fajardo6 years ago in Families
Ruby Rare
There is no one more inspirational to me than my mother. She is a rare breed. And when I say rare, I mean ruby rare. The kind of ruby rare that you think you’ll never find. Not in this lifetime. Not in the next. She is special. She is my ruby rare. I usually call her mama instead of mom or mommy, because for me, mama sounds so much more comforting. Comfort, along with love, care, and sacrifice, is what my mother represents. She raised four children, two boys and two girls. And she made it look effortless. Even in times of struggle, she never let us kids see that times were hard. She made the best effort to give us the kind of life she felt we deserved.
By Cassandra Henry6 years ago in Families
The Other KOUL Sister
There’s four of us “Koulabdara kids” in my family, two boys and two girls. Growing up, I was always dubbed as “the smart one”, Bay, my older brother, “the artistic one”, Mickey, my younger brother, “the baby” and then there was my older sister, Kay, “the beautiful one”.
By Sera Koulabdara6 years ago in Families
Vulnerable superwoman
Melody Guryn is a beyond average Mamacita and a mother of four. I have always looked up to her the way she did her make-up, got ready for work, she was so professional and had it together. I admired the way she sang Shania Twain songs because she knew we loved it. She consistently sang her songs and taught us as we jumped on her bed with a hairbrush in hand. I loved the way she always had everything under control no matter what was happening.
By Brooke Guryn6 years ago in Families
I am because she was.
There's a photo of my great-grandmother; she is standing with her sister and sister in law with the biggest smile on her face. It is my favorite photo of her. She is in her twenties with her two best friends, my Aunt Nunnie her sister, and my Aunt Willa Mae, who would eventually become her sister in law. I love this photo because it is rare. It is unique because I am seeing her before she was a wife; before she was a mother, a grandmother, and great-grandmother. I'm seeing her as just Mary, a woman in her twenties dreaming of something more. I had seen this photo many times before. It had a place in all of the homes she lived in until her death. But it wasn't until after she died that I understood the depth of this photo. I realized that I only knew one part of her life and story. That I only knew her for a brief period of her life. But that short period profoundly impacts my life.
By Amber Shephard6 years ago in Families
A Little Map of Hope
Picture this: You’ve just turned eighteen. You’re wearing a long red shirt with a new pair of tight jeans that you very consciously entrusted with boosting your confidence for the day. After years of dreaming about it, you worked your way to reaching a destination that is presently 1,697.41 miles away from home, and you think you’re ready. You think you’re ready in that petulant way teenagers always swear they are… but when your mami implies that she’s finally leaving the room, the fact that you’re not suddenly sneaks up on you.
By Alejandra Rivera Flaviá6 years ago in Families
Fortiér Fortitude
Spring 1995 – Emil Villa’s Hickory Pit – Oakland, California. Lillian had just waved her waiter away for the third time. They had been seated for almost half an hour and still had not ordered. Lillian, known to her family as Dear, did not appreciate being or feeling rushed.
By Y. Fortier-Bourne6 years ago in Families
