Ceremony. Rite of passage. These are the series of words that popped in my mind as I saw my son standing there in a suit he was trying on, as he prepares for prom and graduation. He looked stunning to me. I had never seen my son look so handsome. I could have died at that moment. I could hardly contain my joy that I wanted so badly to cry or dance a dance of joy -- or both. Instead, I stood there and smiled and said, "You look wonderful son." He smiled back and said, "Thank you, mom." At that moment I saw only a hint of the boy before me, who every day is becoming more and more a man.

Tenía 9, apenas 9 años, cuando me empecé a dar cuenta que la vida era algo mucho más inmenso que solo despertar, ponerme el uniforme horrible de cuadros, las calcetas blanquísimas que mi nana me lavaba con mucho cloralex y me apretaban y marcaban los chamorros de niña gordita.

Something that I read this past week really lit a little fire within me. The article that I read suggested that when other people around us are negative or sad, it's a reflection of ourselves, the energy that we give out. I'm not sure if that's true or not but I do believe that we can attract positivity with positivity.

As I get older, I am more and more convinced that it's the little details in life that make all the difference. It's the card I received from my Tia Olga the other day. It came just at the right time, because I was having a rough day. Or it's the text message I received from my father telling me that he missed me and loved me. Or it's my son Leo telling me that I'm a good mom.  All those things make the world go round for me.