Laughter is the Best Medicine

I had a wonderful conversation with two of my cousins this evening. We spoke of so much loss, recent and past that I may have shed a few tears. But we also laughed. There is nothing that compares to laughing with those that know you best and have walked through this life with you from the beginning. Some of those walks were through valleys, but many more were through incredibly happy days. The daily stuff that makes up life. The stuff we don't realize is so important until it's in the past. Those days. How I miss those days.

A few things really struck me after we hung up. The first is how family stories are so different depending on who is telling them and what they heard plus who they've heard it from. All three of us took turns sharing the story of our grandparents, Pedro and Ascencion Casas; how they met, their life in Spain and then later in Mexico, the children they had and where they were born, and more. I haven't laughed this well in awhile. Three very different stories and I loved it! We all obviously loved it by the laughter that followed after each telling. Bits and pieces matched up. I mean, we all agreed on our grandparent's names at least! But the telling of the rest was pure delight and I am so grateful for this time.

The one thing we all know for sure is this. Our grandparents loved one another and we are who we are because of who they were. I grew up feeling sad that I never knew my grandmothers and only had my one grandfather for a few short years before he died. It has affected my entire life, wishing I had what I saw others had with their grandparents. Until tonight. Tonight, I realized for the first time how very present in my life Pedro and Ascencion have always been. Our family, beginning with our parents, made sure they were very much a part of all of us. Now, we're doing the same thing. Keeping them alive in the family with our mismatched stories and faded photographs. Recipes and jewelry, rosaries, and prayer cards continue to be passed down to the next generation just as they were passed down to mine. I am so grateful and proud to have grandparents. Life is good, even when it isn't. 

                                           Pedro Casas and Ascencion Prieto ~ Wedding Photo 

                                                   We believe the date is 06/28/1909 in Spain

                                                                         Pedro Casas

                                                                    Ascencion Casas

                                                   Pedro Casas and Ascencion Casas~1927

                                                                  Corona, California

                                                       Ascencion Casas and Pedro Casas

                                                       Pico St in Los Angeles, California

                                                        Ascencion Casas and Pedro Casas
                                       Fishing in Mexico with Uncle Pete and Aunt Charlotte

                                                         Ascencion Casas and Pedro Casas

                                                     My favorite picture of my grandparents!

                                                  I use to hide this under my pillow as a kid.

                                                 Pedro Casas and Ascencion Casas~1950s
                                                                    

Happy Freakin New Year, Ya Filthy Animals

I was thinking about my mom today, as I do most days, and decided to dig through some old photos. I was pretty sure I would be able to find at least one picture of her from a past New Year's Eve. I was not disappointed.

 Louie Casas, Pete Casas, Charles Casas, Ray Casas

Helen Casas, Charlotte Casas, Bernice Casas, Lillian Casas

Yep, there she is, with her tongue sticking out and her face all Lucile Ballish. She was so hip even before it was cool to take a picture with your tongue hanging out like a freak flag flying. Just imagine if she was still alive. She'd be leading the selfie pack of duck lipped weirdos or whatever strange face contortions are in at the moment. Boy, I miss her.

It makes sense that she would marry into the Familia de Casas. I mean, seriously, just look at my grandparents.

 

Pedro Casas and Ascencion Prieto Casas 

My Grandmother, Ascension Prieto Casas died two weeks before I was born, and yet I've always felt connected to her. How could I not? Check out her side-eyed smile. It says everything I say when I make that same face, like, "if you people only knew the crazy going on in my head right now." I may have never met my father's mother, but I have always loved her. She and my mother got along beautifully, or so the stories go and I could understand why. I'm pretty sure they were both hilarious. I know my mother was, for sure. 

Then there were my dad's brothers. These are the two that were more, shall we say, colorful?

                                                            Pete Casas and Louie Casas

Oh, the stories I could tell about just these two alone. I miss them so much and all their shenanigans and tomfoolery. They were bad boys in the best sense. If you don't understand what that means, I feel sorry for you because you've missed out on something special. 

How I wish I could have just one extra day to transport back into their lives. I wouldn't cry. Much. I'd eat and drink and laugh and do my best impressions. The ones that always made my mother laugh while calling me ridiculous. I'd ask my grandpa to twirl my name on his tongue like he always did in his thick Spanish accented English. I'd dance with my dad until my feet couldn't take anymore. I'd smile while Uncle Louie pinched my cheeks and told me Big Fish lies that were better than any truth. Then, while Uncle Pete and Aunt Charlotte surrounded me with their godparent love, I'd ask for advice on how to talk to animals the way they could. Pretty soon, Aunt Helen would give me one of those amazing hugs that made you believe you were the favorite and she'd tell me one of her hilarious stories that were always true. I'd play scrabble with Uncle Ray and tell him what he always meant to me and I'd hugged Aunt Lil and try not to cry while she spoke sweetly to me, as always, with that hint of the South decorating her words. 

And finally...finally...I'd plop myself down next to Ascencion Prieto Casas and tell her how much I've always loved her. I'd let her know her wedding picture hangs on my wall because I like to look at it and see my face in hers. I'd ask her to tell me, in her own words, how she met my beloved grandfather on a ship headed for America from Spain. I would hold her hands, and kiss her cheeks and smell her familiar smell. The smell of home that I always imagined a grandmother that belonged to me would smell of. Then we'd smile that side-eyed smile together and it would all be worth just one day.