Paths to Lola’s House

I remember my 3 paths to get to Lola’s house, and being little, how I dreaded every one of those paths. The first path was to go through the terrace, where all of Lolo and Lola’s “vicious” little dogs would bark and chase me. I hated those dogs. The second path was to go through the dark, hot garage and the smelly kitchen with “ipis”. As a little girl, I remember running through the garage and the kitchen to get past it as quickly as I could. The third path was to walk outside the compound, around the corner and through the office or gates on Dona Juana Rodriguez. This meant being out in the, then seemingly, busy highway – very intimidating for a little girl.

Now much older and, I would like to think, wiser, those dreaded paths seem so silly and have become precious memories to me. The thought of those little dogs always bring a smile to my face. I sometimes come across places that smell like the garage or kitchen and it brings back fond memories of Lola’s house. Dona Juana Rodriguez is not the wide highway I thought it to be, it’s a narrow road that somehow represented the boundaries of my childhood. I felt safe, as long as I stayed within those boundaries. Those dreaded paths to Lola’s house meant good times with my cousins – and nothing was going to stop me from getting there EVERYDAY.

Lia