Author: Xiomara Spadafora

I am just another woman in the world, but I have several jobs: my son's mom, my husband's wife, my mother's daughter, and my friends' friend. While living my jobs I find the things I want to write about.
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Teaching Balance

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If you want to learn to ride a bike, you have to take the training wheels off.

Two weekends ago I took my son to a nearby park and while we were there, he saw a group of older boys riding their bikes. He coveted them. His eyes focused on them and then he turned to me and said, “Mama, I want to ride my bike without the baby wheels.” Immediately, a shiver ran through my spine. My son inherited a lot of my good genes, but unfortunately I think he inherited my lack of balance.

When we arrived home, my husband got to work and removed the training wheels as the little general commanded. He put his Captain America helmet on, jumped on the bike, and without any instructions my husband just pushed him down our driveway with his Herculean strength, as if he were playing bowling. The kid went down straight and crashed against our neighbor’s mail box. Continue reading “Teaching Balance”

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The Forgotten Votes

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My son woke up this morning and sat at the kitchen table, yawning, with sleepy eyes. Then, while my husband made him breakfast, he told him that Donald Trump had won the election. His eyes opened wide and smiling he asked, “He really won?“

For several months after school, during our car ride home, he talked about what he and his friends said about Donald Trump becoming president of the United States. He is only five and a half years old, and clearly he doesn’t understand the meaning and ramifications of yesterday’s results. In spite of that, what he and his 15 kindergartner school mates got right, every pundit and pollster got wrong. Continue reading “The Forgotten Votes”

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The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

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Last Monday my husband, my son, and yours truly hit the streets of our neighborhood dressed up as Death, Optimum Prime Transformer, and sexy witch, respectively for Halloween. My husband will tell you that my costume fit me to perfection–not only size wise, but also because of my mischievous intuition. By magic, if the weather is nice, I can tell you exactly where my husband is after work: golfing.

Before we left the house for the “Trick or Treat” marathon–there is no other way to call it when you have a five-year-old–I made sure we didn’t walk through one of the nearby streets. A couple of weeks ago, I received an alert through Facebook, about a sex offender moving into our community. When I clicked on the attachment to see the picture of the “monster,” I looked into his eyes and felt a chill run through my spine. Continue reading “The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing”

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Smoke Curtain

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One of my favorite American sayings is, “Putting lipstick on a pig,” and there are countless examples of this expression in real life. Nonetheless, one in particular caught my attention last weekend. The outcry of the Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) industry–AKA manufactures of the e-cigarettes–are finally facing a tax measure that is on the ballot this upcoming November 8th election in California.

The ENDS industry is fighting nail and tooth against Proposition 56, which seeks not only to increase the existing cigarette tax, but also to begin taxing the e-cigarettes and liquid nicotine dispensers just like tobacco. Why now? Because recent studies have shown an alarming increase in the use of these devices by middle and high-school kids. Continue reading “Smoke Curtain”

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All About Boobs

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Last year I wrote about my suspicion of breast cancer after I found a small node during a self-exam. Even though the results of my first mammogram came back normal, breast cancer is something that has been in my mind since I was a girl. At age 12, I spent my summer vacation nursing my Grandmother who had had a radical mastectomy. The images of the vast mutilation wound and the color of her skin after the radiotherapy sessions, remain vivid in my memory.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among all women regardless of ethnicity, and the most common cause of death for Hispanic women. As a Hispanic woman with a family history of breast cancer, I am aware of my odds and keep them present, because every day I look at my husband and my son and I can’t imagine not seeing them again. Continue reading “All About Boobs”

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A hurricane named Matthew

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Last week Florida endured one of the worst storms in the 11 years that I’ve been living in the Sunshine State. After killing hundreds of people in Haiti, Hurricane Matthew aimed all his strength towards the South Eastern Coast of the US, generating an avalanche of preparations from state governments, law enforcement, emergency services, and the general public.

Before this one, I dismissed all storms and thought the preparations were a marketing strategy from the hardware stores to sell stuff that hardly ever comes off their shelves. Probably it is due to my Colombian upbringing; honestly we never plan for anything and are used to being rescued by the Sacred Heart and the Virgin Mary. Continue reading “A hurricane named Matthew”

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Do what I say!

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Against all odds and in contradiction to all the polls, last Sunday, Colombia–my home country–voted NO in an historic referendum that was supposed to legitimize the peace deal signed by the Santos Administration and the revolutionary army FARC in a publicized ceremony seven days before.

I am not going to give an opinion about it, because I don’t live there anymore, and it feels hypocritical criticizing either side. However, I do have an opinion about the reaction of the people who voted YES and why it might explain the NO victory. Continue reading “Do what I say!”

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The iNanny

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With all due respect to Steve Jobs, as brilliant as he was, I don’t think he ever imagined the power that his iPad would have on society, especially on children. This machine has become my on-call assistant, always ready to entertain my little one, without complaining or asking for a pay increase.

Nonetheless, as convenient as the iPad has proven to be, last week I had a close encounter with the adverse effects of this appliance on my son’s behavior. This made me realize something I already knew, but had forgotten for a while: nothing can replace me in my son’s life.  Well… for now that he is five years old, of course. Continue reading “The iNanny”

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Innocent Addiction

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Last week I followed two stories in the news that shook me to my core. The first one was the picture that went viral on the Internet of a man and a woman in East Liverpool, Ohio who were completely unconscious in a car while driving with a four-year-old boy in the back seat.

According to the police officer, the driver said he was taking his passenger–the mother of the little boy–to the hospital because she had overdosed. The reality was that both, driver and the passenger, were turning blue and needed a shot of Narcan to reverse the deadly effect of heroin. Continue reading “Innocent Addiction”

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9/11: Unforgotten Pain

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Last Friday I had a dentist appointment at 10 a.m. to check on the acute sensitivity of one of my upper molars. I’m a 100% chicken with respects to dentistry work, so I dreaded the visit for a couple weeks. However, the pain started to get worse and the fear of an overnight emergency on the weekend pushed me to go.

The hygienist took some x-rays and said that maybe my sinus or grinding was causing the pain. This gave me hope. Then, the dentist came in, took a look at the x-rays, and applied heat to the troubled tooth, which made me jump like a spring. He sat up straight, took his glasses off and said, “I’m sorry, you need a root canal.” Continue reading “9/11: Unforgotten Pain”