La Sangre Llama

Many things I read and some things I hear remind me of my mother's repetition of an old Spanish saying: "La sangre llama" or "our blood (or ancestors) call us beckon to us. In graduate school I tied Mami's saying to Toni Morrison's discussions of "ReMemory". So whatever our origins, those who walked the earth before us and contributed to our genetic pool cry out that we not forget them. Perhaps? Or that we honor them? Or that we  mindfully build on that which they have given us.


In our family we love storytelling, politics, arguing and calling each other out on those things that make us unique--not with malice but frequently with laughter and joy. I think that is happening now with me and my older progeny. Not wanting to date myself I now include grandchildren with children in one lump sum. In truth the characteristics of my parents and my late-ex-husband's parents are readily seen in the children that came.

So now is the time to see how my children respond to the call of their ancestors. I'll patiently await to see how we each take the gifts we have been handed.