This pile of homemade tamales were made by my family.They look delicious, right? They are.
Seeing this picture of our tamales makes me happy for everything it represents.
It represents a family coming together.
It represents a family who enjoys each other's company.
It represents a family who welcomes everyone and makes first-timers feel right at home.
It represents a family who doesn't shy away from hard work.
It represents a family who values tradition.
It represents a family who embraces their heritage.
It represents the love that we feel for one another.
This pile of tamales has been one of the greatest gifts from our grandmother, who as our matriarch, always had one wish--that we always stay connected. The year after our grandmother's death, we came up with the idea of getting together as a family the first Saturday of December to make tamales. (We decided on the first Saturday of the month because her birthday was December 2.)
That was nine years ago.
This year, as always, we came together as a family. We welcomed two new members to our tribe, and they meshed right into our family. There was a lot of conversation and a lot of laughter at the assembly table this year. As usual, it was messy and fun.
