FROM JUAN: Today I’m really quite excited to introduce the first of many friends who have signed on to give Juan of Words a breath of fresh air by sharing their own unique and very personal perspectives as contributing writers. My friend Isabel Martinez is a fourth generation Mexican American who is currently working towards her Master’s degree in Theology. I know you’ll enjoy her writing as much as I do. Let’s give her a big old BIENVENIDA like only you all know how to do. Gracias.
Just like any Mexicana, I love family dinners! Because I’m usually off on Mondays our Sunday dinners happen on Monday. Today was no different. What made today extra special was that my grandma and mom were here to spend it with us. All weekend the guys were bugging me to make lasagna, so what did I make…pues ya sabes.
Mostly I love family dinners because of all the laughs and memories we create. Today, we were picking on my brother’s best friend Pancho. We’ve known this guy for about 13 years, and well he’s a big boy, just like my brother. When he would go to Mexico with us my dad would call him and my brother his guarda espaldas because they’re both about six feet tall. Anyway Pancho is always the scapegoat for everything bad that happens here at the house.
Even though he doesn’t live with us, he spends about 75 percent of his time here at the house. So when something happens we blame Pancho.
“Who ate all the rice?”
¡Pancho!
“Who broke the remote?”
¡Pancho!
“Who finished the toilet paper?”
¡Pancho!
Pobre Pancho. He never catches a break. Even when he’s not here we still end up blaming him for something. My grandma, who always looks for the good in people, finally asked us tonight why we were blaming everything on poor Pancho. He just smirked while stabbing his fork into a giant piece of lasagna and responded: “It’s cause they know me. And I’m usually the one who does all that.”
So there it was! He finally confessed! All it took was my sweet grandma to coax it out of him. So now you know, if anything ends up missing, or you find an empty quart of juice in the fridge, nomás echale la culpa a Pancho.
Isabel Martinez is getting her Master’s degree in Theology. When she’s not working or studying she loves cooking, and discovering new things to do in Houston. Follow her on Twitter @shilohgirl_mop.