There was a young man of about 17 years, preparing for his 18th birthday. He was very excited about this birthday because he felt this was the birthday that would bring him into manhood and he would finally be an adult. He planned a big party and invited lots of guests and expected lots of gifts and festivities. The day of his birthday came and no one attended his birthday event. He called his grandmother disappointed and sad because no one came and he was so excited just to be let down and disappointed. His grandmother invited him over saying “sit with me while I make you a birthday dinner.” and so he went to his grandmother’s to have birthday dinner. And she sat and talked with him while she gathered the ingredients to make her grandson a dinner. He spoke of how depressed sand and disappointed he was while she comforted him saying “Grandma knows all about depression and disappointment, I’m gonna tell you my stories and how life has ups and downs but grandma is still here and smiling and i’m gonna make you soup that’s gonna knock that feeling right off you grandchild. You will wake up tomorrow better than ever.” so they talked while his grandmother cooked, and he listened to his grandmother’s stories about her life and her friends and their lives, and he began to picture his grandmother at his age in the stories she told, and then pictured her as his parents age, and the way she spoke was almost like a movie. It was easy to picture her character and hang onto her words because she spoke with a funny accent. She was raised in Panama the first 10 years of her life and sometimes mixed her native language with engish words. Before he knew it a deliciously smelling soup was steaming in from of him with dumplings, rice, chicken and different herbs and spices. The first taste was so good he had to take a break to take in the goodness of the flavor before he took another bite. While he waited it was as if he could feel the warmth of the soup traveling through his body until it reached his heart. He began to eat more as he listened to his grandmother speak, and the more he ate the warmer he felt and it was like all his sadness and depression began to melt away as he ate and focused on his grandmother and her stories of triumph over sadness and disappointment. As sad as he had been when he walked through her door, he no longer felt that sadness and disappointment. In fact he felt better than he ever had. Almost equal to the day he graduated high school. As simple as it was he knew that this would be a birthday and a gift he would always remember. He told his grandmother so as he thanked her and then went home to sleep.
“just because someone doesn’t come to your party doesn’t mean they don’t love you, think about if they were there when it wasn’t a party or joyous occasion, was that person there when no one else was?”
That night when he slept, he slept comfortably and soundly, and dreamt dreams over his grandmother talking to him saying things like “life is full of ups and downs, and you will always be let down if you trust in others to provide the things you need for yourself.” and “just because someone doesn’t come to your party doesn’t mean they don’t love you, think about if they were there when it wasn’t a party or joyous occasion, was that person there when no one else was? That is love grandson”. The next morning he called his grandmother and said “grandma I don’t know what you put in that soup, but I feel good, I learned a lot and I thank you”.
People Watching a Movie
As the young man grew older and entered college and developed relationships life began to get tougher for the young man. It was close to graduation time, the studies were harder and the relationship he was in began to dwindle because of the demand in studies, classes, and keeping afloat. Against what he really wanted to do he felt he must end his relationship so that he could ensure his graduation. Contrary to what he thought he found out ending his relationship was harder than he thought and found that’s all he could focus on his pain, and wondering if the other person was ok. He called his grandmother to explain his dilemma and how bad he felt. She once again invited him over saying “It sounds like you need some of gramma’s good soup.” So he grabbed his books and headed to his grandmother’s. He once again sat and listened to his grandmother’s accent as she told him stories of her previous relationships and endeavors. How being a single mother between relationships and sometimes jobs she had to do what was best for her children and what was best for the situation. As he listened to her and ate of her good soup his mind began to relax and he felt as if he knew what he needed to do with a new determination and clarity. He thanked her once again for her wisdom and hospitality and headed home to study for a few hours and and the get some rest. That night when he slept he dreamed dreams again of his grandmother speaking to him saying things like “life is about priorities and creating a balance between what is important. People who are willing to make life work with you will compromise in order to help keep things in balance. Think of scales. If too much weight is put on one end then that end will begin to fall while the other rises. The scales will not move if there is a perpetual balance.” and “Your life is your bank account. As you add to it, your balance grow. If people begin to remove from your account then they are removing from your life. Think if someone is adding to your life/account or debiting from your life/account and is what you are removing from the balance worth the cost it is taking from your account/life.” The young man woke up the next morning and began to reevaluate his priorities making sure he put graduating first even if it meant he had to suffer a few things. He called his grandmother to tell her his revelations and she said “that is a great thing grandson. You will do well.” The young man graduated less than a year later with high honors, thanking his grandmother as inspiration.
life is about priorities and creating a balance between what is important. People who are willing to make life work with you will compromise in order to help keep things in balance.
As a few years passed and the young man entered into a career and life, his grandmother began to take very ill. She told him she would probably not going to be on this earth much longer and it was almost her time to go. “I’ve made some soup grandson, come sit with your grandmother one last time and talk with me. I want to make sure my grandchild will be okay before I leave.” So the young man headed to his grandmother’s house and sat with her. The soup had already been prepared and he ate at her bedside saying “Grandmother you want to make sure I am ok, but you are the one who is sick, Im here to make sure you are okay and get better.” she said to him “Grandson I am going to get better, just not here. I’m tired of this place and my body is sick and I do not want to fight any more. I have live more than a full life and fulfilled my purpose here. Know that I love you and always will. Remember my stories and they will help you on your path as well grandson.” and he said to her “Grandmother you and your soup has helped me through so many difficult times and has helped me grow. I don’t know how I will be able to grow without you.” and she said to him “You may not know how you will yet but you will, because you have to. And you know you have to do what you have to do. I put some soup in the freezer for you, because i know this may be a difficult week for you. If you fetch me a pen and paper i will write down my secret soup recipe. I’m giving it to you and no one else, too much soup can get you in trouble.” So the young man went to look for pen and paper so his grandmother could write down the recipe. When he finally gathered the two he went back to his grandmother’s room to see she had fallen asleep with a sheet of paper on top of her blanket that read:
Soup
Pan, arroz(ah-rohz),
sopa (soh-pah)
pollo (poh-yoh),
Hierbas y mota (ee-air-bahs)(moh-tah),
❤❤❤❤❤
Ingles
He took the note and kissed his grandmother and left so that she could rest. He went home and slept and dreamed dreams of his grandmother and her speaking to him saying “sometimes in life you have to let go even when it is hard to do so. Sometimes letting go means learning and fulfilling lifes lessons and destiny on your own. Sometimes letting go means giving strength to someone else to do it on their own as well. There comes a time when no one is there and everyone will have to look to themselves. What will they do if they never had to do it on their own?” and “ I have journeyed with you from childhood until now, it’s time that I make this journey alone. If you love me like I know you do grandson you will know that you have to let me go and make this journey. My body is old, tired and weak here. I have to see if I can find a new one. Do you want me to keep this body here with you? Or would you like me to find a new one, and when you make this part of the journey I can lead you to yours just as I led you in the body that you have now? You are smart, and you love me, so I know you do not want this for me. Remember my stories and my teachings. And if you need me you always have Grandma’s soup.”
The next morning he found out that his grandmother had passed the night before. Just as his grandmother had said, that week was a very long week for him ending with the funeral of his grandmother. With all the emotions he experienced that week all he wanted to do at the end of it was talk to his grandmother but knew he couldn’t. But he remembered she had put some soup in her freezer for him. He got the soup and warmed it up. The first bite was almost like sitting there with her. He got the sheet that she wrote the recipe down on. He read the words knowing the parenthesis mean pronunciation. He began to pronounce the words in her accented tongue so he could figure the ingredients of the soup.
Pan.. well of course you need a pan to cook it in
Arroz (Ah Rohs) Sounds like she’s saying a rose, maybe rosemary?
Sopa (Soh-Pah) Sounds like soap?
Pollo (Poh-Yoh) He knew every time she meant chicken she would say pollo
Sopa and chicken must mean clean the chicken.
Hierbas y mota that looks like herbs and spices. Maybe tomato because she always had trouble with that word. Be he didn’t remember tomatoes being in the soup
Ingles is a grocery store she would shop at so he knew she was telling him where to buy the ingredients.
After finishing the soup he went to lay in his grandmother’s bed and fell into a deep sleep. He dreamed of his grandmother saying “The service was so nice today, it was so good to see everyone and that you all let me go with grace. I knew you would eat the soup and it would bring you to me. I must go now, I’ll see you again. You have the recipe for the soup. I love you.”
The next day as he helped his family clean out his grandmother’s place he began to get sad as he went through her things resurrecting memories and even recognizing mementos from some of the stories she had told him.
Backstage Preparations
