The devil wears...shoes

First off, let me start by saying that I hope ya'll had a great Christmas. Mine was subpar at best. I basically slept all day, between the openings of presents. I got good ones. I was just out of it. And I wasn't even hungover. The best present though was my daddy showing up on my sisters' doorstep. I haven't seen him for quite some time, so that was rad. I also got to see my little (read: younger, taller than me) sister and her new, wait for it, husband. HUSBAND. She's 17...barely. The icing on the cake? She's also pregnant. On purpose. I'd so hoped she wouldn't make the same mistakes...*ahem* little accidents...I did. Not to say I don't love my crazy, funny, amazonian children...and there's not really any regret left...but still, there's always the wondering what would have become of me had I chosen a different path. But I digress. I'm a little disappointed in her...a little saddened, but if that's what she wants, I guess there's no stopping her. Especially considering she ran away to Juarez, Mexico to elope. I think we pretty much put the DIS in disfunctional. On a sadder note, my grandmother isn't doing well at all. We don't think she'll live through the week. I sat with her for a few hours today so that my mom could get out into the real world, and it was hard. Six days after my 12th birthday, my grandfather (this grandma's husband) died of cancer...I was present when it happened and needless to say it traumatized me pretty bad. So being with her today brought me back 15 years...basically I was real paranoid that she would pass while I was there and I wouldn't know what to do. We both survived the afternoon. Although it's sad to see her like this. This being a woman who never learned how to drive and walked everywhere. She worked in the fields with other migrants picking cotton and grapes. She survived constant physical and verbal abuse from her husband. She gave birth to my mom, five months early I might add, herself on her kitchen table. She raised 4 sons and 2 daughters and took care of countless grandkids...you know us Mexicans, we multiply...and she's lived to be 87. And to this day, in her weakened condition, she will still stand to offer you her seat. Having been raised to be hospititable...making food for large amounts of people, serving all the men in the family, giving up her bed for anyone in need or any visiting relatives...it's in her blood. And even though she can barely stand on her own, she's STILL trying to make us and serve us food. STILL trying to make us as comfortable as possible. She is a wonderful lady, mother, grandmother, aunt, sister and friend. As I type, type, type away, the tears flow easily, cause while she's still holding on tight to that small shred of life left in her, the grasp will losen quickly and she will be missed...immensely. Through all this, I'm holding up well though. I have to...for my mom. As most of you know, we already went through all this with my uncle not 6 months ago. But we have to keep our chins up and plow through life with tenacity and strength. After all, I have two mini-me's that need tending to. Remember, we do not remember days, we remember moments.