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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The Good Mother

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While waiting in line with my girlfriend’s kids, my little Bubbas didn’t know the torture in his future.

Last Saturday, my husband and I took our little boy to see The Good Dinosaur, the newest Disney-Pixar movie which is about the adventures of an Apatosaurus named Arlo and his little “pet-human” named Spot.

I have to say I was delighted to see again a movie with a simple, heartwarming story that teaches children how perseverance and hard work are necessary to overcome obstacles in life.  I won’t spoil the movie, but I’ll just say this, I cried a river at the end. Continue reading “The Good Mother”

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Thanks for the Turkey! 

Thanks for the Turkey!
I know I have to be thankful for something… I think the turkey is ready!

As much as I have tried to assimilate to the American life—I still don’t like football and I hate BBQ food—it has been difficult, but… when my son was born in 2011, my heart grew roots deeper than the oak named “Big Tree” in Texas.

From that moment on, the family traditions that my husband, my son, my dogs, and yours truly have built, are the blue prints of my identity. Continue reading “Thanks for the Turkey! “

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Gender Crusade

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“One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world,” Malala Yousafzai.

The freedom to speak my mind is something I value greatly. That’s probably why I started writing stories when I was six years old, and ended up studying journalism in college.

I am the kind of person who needs to say what I think and feel; otherwise, I imagine that signs pop out from my back as they do for Wild E. Coyote in The Road Runner.

I grew up in a democratic country. When I was a little girl, I was able to go to school, read, and learn. As a teenager I could drive, go to dances, and try goofy hair-styles such as the “Alf.” As an adult woman, I lived alone, supported myself, and made all the decisions of my life based on my expectations… Nobody else’s. Continue reading “Gender Crusade”

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Dogs aren’t Toys

People and their dogs share more than just looks.
People and their dogs share more than just looks.

Note: I posted this column on November 11. However, the theme is so relevant for Christmas–and I haven’t finished wrapping the presents –that I decided to post it again.

On November This past Wednesday, I read on Twitter the story about a little puppy rescued after being thrown out of a moving car. I wish I could meet the person who did this and throw him inside an active volcano.

Although this story is unusual, rescue shelters all over the country are filled with dogs who have been abandoned by their owners when they move. I can’t help but wonder, what makes people do such terrible things? Are they even human? Continue reading “Dogs aren’t Toys”

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The Beat of Life

Our hearts
Our hearts set the rhythm of our lives with each beat. So, listen to your heart and try to stay in tune.

Last Sunday, we had just finished lunch, and I was practicing writing letters with my son at the kitchen table, when my husband called my name from the couch. I turned to look at him and with watering eyes he could only whisper, “It’s the same pain. I think we have to go to the hospital.“

The clock stopped, and the memory of his massive heart attack on December 7, 2010 started playing on my mind as if I were in a movie theater. Continue reading “The Beat of Life”

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Halloween Monsters

There is always a wolf waiting to pounce on the sheep when the shepherd falls asleep.
There is always a wolf waiting to pounce on the sheep when their shepherd falls asleep.

I often hear people say that the brain of a child is like a sponge. My son’s is more like a vacuum, sucking everything in indiscriminately. Therefore, my husband and I have had to watch our behavior in front of our little “spy,” because he seems to have been trained by the CIA at Langley; he doesn’t miss anything.

Lately, he has been asking, “Stupid is a bad word, right Mommy?” I feel like such a hypocrite when I say to him, “Yes baby, and you should never say it,” knowing that I have the tendency to curse like a sailor–in Spanish mostly. But, besides his awareness about bad language, what I have noticed in the past few months is that my little man is starting to really grasp the difference between good and bad.  Continue reading “Halloween Monsters”

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Date Night

My Italian, just like Rocky, would die for his honor.
My Italian husband, just like Rocky, would die for his honor.

This past Saturday night, my husband and I went out for a drink; it was the first time in over a month. Initially, we were going to have dinner in San Augustine—the oldest most romantic city in Florida–but, as the day progressed, and the exhaustion of a typical Saturday piled up, we felt the weight of an elephant on our shoulders. So, we ended up going to the bar of a little pizza joint two blocks from home.

Prior to leave, we ate a nutritious family meal with the kids—Chinese takeout—then I prepared Bubbas for bed and gave “Sissy” a few instructions before we hit the road. Continue reading “Date Night”

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Mix-Breed

As different as Rusty and Sasha look, they are part of the same loving family.
As different as Rusty and Sasha may look, they are part of the same loving family.

For years, going to the vet was “herding” two stressed-out, yapping dogs, and a toddler from my car to the dog clinic.

Once inside, I had to be careful not to lose a finger in the grip of leashes while Rusty and Sasha jumped from side to side hyperventilating. If that wasn’t enough, I had to stop my son, several times, from putting his little hand inside the doggie treats jar instead of the butter mints. Continue reading “Mix-Breed”

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“Happy Honey? Show me the money!”

I love making my Honey happy, but I have to pay a price and so does he!
Happiness has a price, and if I have to pay it, so does my hubby!

Very often I hear husbands–including mine–say, “Happy wife, happy life,” when they refer to the demands of their spouses which are, many times, incomprehensible to them. Yet, I have never heard a popular saying that refers to the happiness of the husband, hence the happiness of the wife.

You might recall my column from August 12, “Who said it’s too late?” where I told you about the beginning of my husband’s Paleo Diet. Well, it has been over two months, and I have to admit, the changes are considerable and worth sharing.

First of all, I was wrong. Yes, ladies, I said I was wrong. Thank God he didn’t hunt the deer of our community, didn’t wear a leopard leotard, or dance naked by the fire on the back patio. Contrary to my belief, he did stick to eating fruits and vegetables like a rabbit and only lean meats like a grizzly bear. Continue reading ““Happy Honey? Show me the money!””

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My son is not perfect

The best ride of my life began four and a half years ago.
This is just a sample of the million expressions my son has in a day. The best roller coaster in the world.

When you look at your child, do you hear that little voice telling you for a brief moment, “He is perfect,” and then it goes silent when he yells at the top of his lungs leaving your ears ringing? It happens to me every day, many times a day.

A day in the life of a four year old is like a day at a Disney theme park. The range of emotions go from excitement to frustration at the speed of light, and we, the parents, well moms mostly, survive these 24 hours under the influence of pure love; dads simply are deaf or immune to any kind of whining. My husband would say, “What? Did he say something?” Continue reading “My son is not perfect”