Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

The Song of My Childhood - Arroz con Leche

 

            When I was a little girl, both of my parents had jobs, so they hired a stay at home nanny. I called her Nana, and I loved her very much. She was like my second mother; my own mother was always working and had little time to be with me. She was the person I interacted the most with and I would always ask her if she would ever leave me when I grew up and go help another little girl. She said no, and she never did. .
             We would do everything together starting from the moment I woke up. She would give me my bath, play with me, feed me, and tell me the best stories I had ever heard. I would always watch her as she did her chores. If she were cleaning our rooms, or the bathrooms, or the living room, I would be there. My favorite thing to watch her do was prepare our meals. She new exactly what do use and how much to use to make each meal amazing. While my Nana cut the vegetables she would always sing a song, "Arroz con leche me quiero casar, con una señorita de San Nicolas. Que sepa coser, que sepa bordar, y que abra la puerta para ir a jugar." Everyday she would sing the same song, and it always seemed strange to me because she would have an almost sad face when she sang it. .
             When I was 9, I got the courage to ask her about the song. She told me that when she was about my age her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Like I was with my Nana, she was always with her mom, doing whatever she did by her side. Her mother, in an attempt to leave her memory behind, sang this song to Nana while she was cutting vegetables to make dinner. She did this every night until she was not strong enough to sing anymore. When her mom was too weak Nana would make the food for her family. That responsibility was very important because when she and her family ate they would always be together. Nana would then sing the song like her mom, and has sung it every time she cuts vegetables since those days. Nana said that the loss of her mother was something she has not gotten over to this day.


Essays Related to The Song of My Childhood - Arroz con Leche