Padrino (Godfather)

You may remember some years back when I was asked to be the Godfather to Karla and Pawis’ daughter Enya. It was quite an honor, being invited into my first Mexican family.

Since I am gay (and not Catholic) it was not an official baptism but rather a spiritual service performed under a tent in or front yard by our friend Reverend Nancy Anderson, and translated by Rodrigo.

That was over three years ago. Since then Karla and Pawis divorced and Karla took Enya to Cuernavaca where they have been living with Karla’s mother. So I only get to see Enya on the occasional visit to San Miguel which, thus far, has been about once a year.

Monday was one of those days.

My heart melted as I opened the door and Enya threw herself into my arms for a fierce and long-lasting hug. Throughout the afternoon she would yell, “CharleS!” (with a special emphasis on the “S”.) But my favorite was when she called me “Padrino.”

We spent the afternoon looking for ‘ranas” (frogs) in the pond. More often than not Enya was carrying our kitten “hipo” (hiccup) wound up in a ball in her arms.

What amazed me was how much and what this three-year-old would eat. First she consumed two bananas before lunch. At lunch she ate rice and chicken in poblano sauce (Thanks Bob and Karen for the leftovers!) and César salad. Later she had a couple pieces of Halloween candy and just before leaving, she ate a ripe tomato as one would eat an apple.

As they drove out the front gate, Enya insisted on leaning out the window for her third kiss goodbye.

Rodrigo’s father’s 70th birthday is in December with Christmas falling the weekend after. We’re thinking about renting a house in Cuernavaca for that week thereby allowing us to spend time with Rodrigo’s family and now, of course, with Enya and Karla.