There’s no place like HOME

First of all, I apologize for the lack of posts lately, a lot has been going on and I just haven’t found the time or the motivation to write. Thanks to the long weekend, I finally have the time and energy to catch up on things, including updating this blog. So here it goes.

On Friday May, 14 I left work early and headed home to pack my suitcase and head to the airport. I couldn’t have been more excited to go home. Not only was it a chance to spend time with my family, but it was the weekend of KU’s Graduation Ceremony. I arrived late Friday night and the festivities began early Saturday morning. The day started off with my mom making breakfast for me and my sisters before we headed to the nail salon to get pedicures. After the pedicures, I headed to my sister Kim’s house to check out the new baby nursery. It looks amazing, of course. It was so nice to see Baby R’s room put together and it made me really excited to have a new nephew this July! Afternoon hit and my family and I headed downtown to attend my cousin Michaela’s college graduation from Rockhurst University. Shortly after, my parents and I headed to Lawrence to attend the Multicultural Scholarship Graduation Banquet held at the Kansas Union. I was a part of the KU MSP Scholars Program during my 3 1/2 year college career so it was nice to go back and attend a banquet honoring myself and my fellow senior scholars. Just to give you an idea of what the scholarship program is all about, here is our mission: The mission of the MSP is to recruit undergraduate students from under-represented backgrounds into various academic majors as a means of increasing the diversity of the student body at the University of Kansas and to provide supports and opportunities that will assist them in their academic success. Needless to say, we enjoyed the banquet and it was a proud moment for my parents and me. After the banquet, I headed to Linwood for my best friend Val’s Graduation Party. It was SO NICE to see Val, especially because I hadn’t seen her in a while. Have I ever mentioned that living thousands of miles away from your best friend isn’t easy? I am SO proud of her accomplishments and have no doubt in my mind that she is going to do great things with her career! After a VERY long and eventful Saturday, I headed home to get a good night’s sleep before Sunday’s Commencement Ceremony.

Sunday came and I headed to Lawrence for graduation. Although I technically graduated in December, it was really nice to “walk the hill” as it gave me a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment! The tradition of walking through the campanile and down the hill symbolizes a student’s journey through life. We might all have taken different paths, but in the end, we are at the bottom of the hill with the achievement of a college degree from one of the greatest universities in the nation. I am so glad I decided to come home to participate in graduation as I finally and completely felt done. Even though I already finished classes and started my first job, I still feel like graduation was the final end to a wonderful chapter in my life. Not to mention that after 3 1/2 years of working my butt off to maintain good grades and further my education, a celebration was much deserved. It was also a proud moment for the Zarate family as I am the 3rd and last daughter to have graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Journalism: Strategic Communication. As both Kim and Andrea pointed out in their blogs, it’s pretty damn awesome to be a trio of Jayhawk sisters! :)

Sunday evening after graduation, my parents and sisters threw me a little graduation party complete with food, drinks, friends and family. It was so unbelievably nice to celebrate with the people I care about the most, especially because I don’t see those people as frequently as I would like. Just about every one of my best friends came which whether they are aware of it or not, made my day!

Val and me about to walk through the Campanile

Proud Parents

Jayhawk Sisters

Zarate Family of Jayhawks

Robbins family and me

The Elmer family and me

Me and the kiddos

Grandma Starks and me

My girls!

Sunday night came to an end with a sleepover. I have been promising Jaxson since I was home in March that the next time I came home to visit we could have a sleepover together. Considering the busy weekend we had, by Sunday night we were both beat. We popped in a DVD and were both out in no time! Before Jax fell asleep we had this conversation:

“Wesa, I love when we have sleepovers when you’re not in New York.” – Jaxson
“I know buddy, me too because I love you sooo much.” – Me
“Wesa, when are you going to come back forever and not ever go back to New York?” – Jaxson
“I don’t know buddy, maybe in a couple of years, but no matter what I will always come visit you when I can because I love you.” – Me
“I know, I love you too.” – Jaxson

It was so adorable! Monday morning came all too soon and I woke up to spend a little bit of time with Jaxson and Audrina before I had to go. I seriously love those kids like they are my own! Being an aunt is one of the best jobs in the world and I can’t wait to have another nephew to adore.

Before I headed to the airport, I went with my dad to visit my abuelo (grandfather) who was just moved home from the hospital after being in and out of the hospital and a nursing home since March. It was a very difficult visit as my abuelo wasn’t doing too well and I was very aware that this might be the last time I would ever see him. It was unbelievably hard to say good bye. As I sat there sobbing watching him sleep I told my dad that I didn’t want to leave to go back to New York because I just had a feeling that as soon as I left, I would have to come right back and unfortunately, I was right. I did indeed fly back to New York Monday night on one of the longest and most difficult flights of my life. I cried from the moment I got to the airport to the time the plane landed 3 1/2 hours later. I just knew in my gut that I would never see my abuelo again and it broke my heart. I managed to gather myself, get my luggage, and take a taxi cab home. I went to bed that night with a heavy heart and it only got worse Tuesday morning when I received a phone call from my mother that my abuelo had past away. My Tio and I booked the next flight out and before I knew it, I was right back there in Kansas City at my abuela’s house crying all over again because my abuelo was gone. Standing there crying in the presence of just about my entire family was one of the worst moments in my entire life as everyone was so heartbroken and so sad about losing such an important person in their lives.

I know that most of you reading this understand how unbelievably difficult it is to lose someone who impacted your life so greatly, and for the Zarate family, it was harder than words can explain. You see, my abuelo was nothing short of an extraordinary man with unending compassion and a heart of gold. He made sacrifices that you and I have never even thought of. He left his wife and 8 kids in Mexico in order to take a cabinet making job in the United States and pave the way for a better life for him and his family. It took 3 long years before he was reunited with his family who were all legally accepted into the United States. He made the sacrifice of not being with his wife and all his kids who he loved so dearly because he didn’t want his family to have to live in poverty like he did. He wanted to come to the land of opportunity and live the American dream so that all his kids and grandkids, and great grandkids could have a better life and a better education to make something of themselves. Thanks to him, I was able to go to college and graduate with a degree. Thanks to him, I have never been poor. Thanks to him, I have endless opportunities to do something great with my life. He is the reason I am so proud to be a Mexican-American and the reason I have spent so much time trying to learn Spanish. All I wanted was for him to be proud of me and thankfully, I can say that when I returned from Spain, I had a great conversation with my abuelo ALL in Spanish. That, along with so many others, is a moment I will never forget. Both of my sisters have said it better than I (Andrea's Blog & Kim's Blog). Sadly, even all 3 of our descriptions combined can’t describe how wonderful of a man my abuelo truly was, but one thing is clear, he will forever be loved and dearly missed!

And so as I conclude on this Memorial Day weekend, I want to say thank you to both of my grandfathers for impacting my life in such a positive way. You both are loved and missed by so many!

Te amo y te extraño abuelo, que en paz descanse

M-I-A in MAY

Can you believe it’s already May? I can’t believe how fast spring is going by, before you know it, it’s going to be summer. Here in the city it already feels like summer with temperatures in the 80s. It has been gorgeous out, which like I’ve mentioned before, puts me in a good mood. I love nice weather, especially when it means backyard barbecues. The sad thing is it’s really making me miss home. Being a true Midwesterner, I absolutely love BBQs and picnics and the thought of not being home for these events makes me sad. I want to be in KS sitting on the porch while my dad is grilling, my mom is making some margaritas, and my sisters and brother-in-laws are socializing and playing with my niece and nephew. The good news is I am heading home in 1 week for my college graduation. I technically graduated in December 09, but because it was a semester early, I never had a graduation celebration. This Friday, May 14 after work I am heading to the airport for a flight to Kansas City! I can’t wait to spend the weekend with my family and friends. Saturday is my cousin’s college grad from Rockhurst College, Saturday night is my Multicultural Scholarship Graduation Banquet, then my best friend Val’s graduation party. Sunday is KU’s Commencement Ceremony, then my Grad Party at my parents’ house in Bonner. Sunday night my nephew Jaxson is having a sleepover downstairs in my room. (Side Note: Jaxson loves having sleepovers and last time I was in KC I had a sleepover at his house and I have been promising him that the next time I’m home, he can have a sleepover at my house.) Monday I will spend the day with my mom, my niece and nephew, and then head back to NYC Monday night. It is going to be a jam packed weekend and I am really looking forward to it!

One of the reasons I have really been missing home lately is because I am missing some important occasions going on in KC. For instance, Saturday, May 1 was my oldest sister Kim’s baby shower and I wasn’t there. Having to miss such a joyous occasion broke (still breaks) my heart. My sisters and I are REALLY close and not being there for Kim on such an important day makes me feel so guilty, like I really let her down. I guess it’s just one of the consequences of moving thousands of miles away from your family. I would love to attend every family function, but with such a big and growing family, it’s impossible. For one thing, it’s not economical for me to fly home all the time, and secondly, it’s just part of moving away. Living in NYC has its pros and cons and although I love the city life, I have to admit, it’s hard to experience the cons like missing important events. I am thankful that my family took lots of pictures of the shower and posted them on Facebook because at least I got to feel like I was there while looking at them, which I definitely was in spirit. I am so happy for my sister and her husband as this is such an amazing time in their lives, I’m just sad that I am not there to experience every minute of it with them. I will most definitely be on the first plane home when I get the call that Kim is in labor, you can count on that sister! ;) I love you and I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for your shower, but I’ll be home soon enough to see the hundreds of things Baby Robbins received. I can’t wait to see how the nursery looks with everything in it!!

Kim and Michael before her baby shower

Another important event I am missing is TODAY, Mother’s Day. This is the first Mother’s Day ever that I haven’t spent with my mom. Again, I feel guilty that I am not there for the people I love the most, it breaks my heart. Mom, I’m sorry I’m not there to celebrate Mother’s Day with you, but please know that every time I am with you is Mother’s Day to me. You are an amazing woman and mother and I love you for helping me and my sisters become the women that we are today. I hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day as you deserve that and more. I can’t wait to see you next week, love you and miss you!

My beautiful mother

And yet another important day I am missing is tomorrow, May 10, my sister Andrea’s 24th Birthday! Again, this is the first of Drea’s Bdays that I have ever missed so it’s hard not being there to help her celebrate. Dre, Happy Birthday, I hope you have a fabulous day, you deserve it! I’m sorry I’m not there, but I’ll be home next week to give you a belated birthday hug! Love you!

The birthday girl

Well, now that I have paid tribute to the most important women in my life, I think I’ll wrap up. Stay tuned for next week’s Kansas City post, it should be a good one! :)

P.S. Val, you didn’t think I forgot you, did you? I’m sorry I missed your Campaigns presentation; I would have loved to be there for you just as you were for me! I’m sure you did fantastic. I can’t wait to watch the video Basow will give you soon! ;) Congrats on graduating, we’ll have celebratory drinks soon enough!

KU's most recent Graduate

Visitors!

Last weekend my Tio Martin and I had 2 visitors, my Tia Patty and her boyfriend Taco (more or less my Tio too). It was SO nice to have family in town, especially because they were the first visitors I’ve had since I moved to NY in February. They arrived Friday night, but unfortunately I had a work thing so I had to miss their welcome dinner, but I made up for it on Saturday. All 4 of us spent the entire day together. We started out with a shopping trip in China Town, then had lunch in Little Italy, then headed out to celebrate Taco’s 41st birthday. Now, those of you who know Taco know that his birthday celebrations are never insignificant, and this one was no exception. We went to the bar Seven to have a few cocktails then we headed to Park, a huge 3 story restaurant/bar/club. This place was huge, not even for Manhattan, but by Kansas City standards. It used to be an old Taxi Garage which explains the name Park and it offered a great atmosphere. We had some apps, then headed to the lounge area for some drinks and dancing, then headed upstairs to the club area where we danced the night away. About 4:30am rolled around and we decided we should probably head home, not only because we were about to close the place down, but because we had tickets to a Broadway show on Sunday afternoon. By the time we cabbed it home, it was past 5 and let’s just say none of us were feeling any pain! With that being said, you can imagine how much we were struggling come Sunday late morning when we had to wake up and get ready for the show.

Lunch in Little Italy

Waiting on our calzones!

At Park

Birthday shots!

Dancing the night away

We made it through the morning and headed to Times Square for a 3:00pm showing of West Side Story. It was amazing, I mean truly entertaining! It had a little bit of everything to keep your attention, great singing, awesome dancing, humor, drama, everything you could possibly want in a show. For those of you who don’t know about West Side Story, it’s set in New York City’s Upper West Side in the mid-1950s. It’s about a rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The members of the Sharks are first-generation Americans from Puerto Rico taunted by the Jets, a working-class white group who consider themselves the true Americans. Tony, one of the Jets, falls in love with Maria, the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks and the drama unveils. With dialogue and songs in both English and Spanish, it was really a great show that someone like me, a Mexican-American could appreciate. The focus on social problems and the non acceptance of Hispanics in America made the show not only entertaining, but educational and eye opening. For people who are a bit closed minded, it provides an alternate perspective and I would hope those type of people walk out of the show with a new point of view. Needless to say, we all loved it! My Tia Patty and I even almost bought shirts that said Sharks on it because we are obviously not Jets, aka white girls! ;)

Times Square for West Side Story

Following the show, we headed to Arriba Arriba for dinner and margaritas. I know what you’re thinking, we all finally got rid of our hangovers and then we go and drink more? Well, if you knew anything about Arriba you’d know it’s impossible not to order a marg as they are delicious, and a Zarate tradition. As Taco said, it wouldn’t be a trip to NYC without dinner and margs at Arriba Arriba.

By the time we left Arriba it was already 8ish so we called it a Sunday and Taco and Patty headed back to their hotel to pack their things and get ready for their flight Monday morning while my Tio and I headed back to the apartment to do laundry and get ready for work on Monday. Overall, it was a great weekend in the city! Thanks Taco and Patty, I had a blast! :)