Skip to main content

Omitting the truth and silk rebozo's

Like any grandmother, most of my grandmother’s house was decorated by old priceless possessions. Mementos of the eras gone by, of the people and the moments in them. I had to be extra careful while in the house, never to touch anything for the fear of breaking it. But as any curious child the untouchable seemed tempting.

In my grandmothers armoire under a box of letters and papers in a plastic bag was one of my favorite untouchables. It was a rebozo (shawl). This was no ordinary shawl it was made purely of silk. A rebozo so light and thin died the perfect shade of black with a fringe knotted into elaborate designs. Intricate knots looped together that you knew took hundreds of hours to make.
On one occasion when my grandmother wasn’t looking I found myself wrapped in it, playing. And as life would have it the fringe got caught in the doorway. The more I moved away from the door way the more the thread unraveled. I remember feeling like the world was going to end in that very instant. I took it off as quickly as I could. Unstuck the thread and put it back in the back hoping my grandmother would never find out.
Soon after there was to be a family gathering. I was with my grandmother as she got ready when she asked me to get the rebozo out of the armoire. And in that moment I froze. So she repeated it again.
“Que saques el rebozo de seda que esta en la bolsa. ¿Que no oyes?” So there I was 5 scared out of my life slowly pulling out of the bag the silk rebozo I’d ruin days before. I wanted the earth to swallow me alive.
“Apúrate” she said. (Hurry up.) I gave it to her folded up. And walked out of the room as fast as I could.
Later that day as everyone sat immersed in conversation I found myself sitting next to my grandmother and as she pulled away at the fringe of her rebozo she whispered in my ear - “La omisión es deslealtad. Acuérdate de eso” And she continued talking like nothing with everyone around her about places and people I knew nothing about.
Omission is a form of disloyalty. I find myself thinking of that statement many years later. Does that statement ring true when you are omitting the truth to stop someone from feeling unnecessary pain? Or is it accurate no matter what the circumstance is? Is omission…… betrayal?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Love never returns void

Many years ago I wrote a piece on a dear friend of mine. At the time her story unraveled with a heartbreaking ending. But if anything remains true from that story is that she is and will continue to be the eternal optimistic… who always, always believes in love. She paced back and forth, looking at the door and back at her watch every few minutes. She was nervous and her hands were sweating. Finally to catch a breath she sits down and lets out a deep sigh. And she closes her eyes. It’s surreal to her how years ago this was the exact same spot she last saw him. Where he promised he loved her and that love was everlasting. The last place before their story crashed and unraveled. She never thought shed be back here again after the way it ended. Years had passed and life and time had taken their toll on their story. One she thought was signed and sealed, shelved on a book case and had become dusty with time. She got up at the sound of the announcer saying the flight had arrived. She l...

New Website- CHANGES

So it's official. "Life As I Know It" is officially coming to a close.  Though "Life As I Know It" has been one of my most proud endeavors, it can no longer continue in its current format, it has run its course and purpose. We are, and will always be, eternally grateful to the more than 3,000 subscribers for the life they gave it. For venturing with us into many tales, and for allowing us to tell you many stories. We cannot say thank you enough to you, the readers, for making this blog what it is today. But don't fret I am very happy to inform you that though this is the end of an era, it is also the start of an age. "Life As I Know It" will continue to live on in our New Site . Though it won’t be the center feature, it will be a part of a more complete and wholesome site, a complete lifestyle blog and site, dedicated to the growing interests of our readers and subscribers. The content will include anything from fashion must-haves, to colu...

The magnitude of history

It’s my usual Sunday night, me rummaging through notes and notebooks, editing and writing. I stood up and went into my writing closet. Realizing that the binder I wanted was at the very top, I stood on a stool and yanked at the bottom of the stack. Swiftly it all came toppling over me, hitting me in the head in the process. Papers and folders scattered everywhere. I grunted. I began picking them up one by one when I ran across a manila folder gently titled “WEDDING” in block letters, with a red heart sticker following the word. I’d forgotten I was planning a wedding. I slid slowly to the floor till I was sitting and I began to go through its contents. There were lists of first dance songs and father/daughter songs; clippings of flower arrangements, swatches of fabrics, notebook entries of budgets, and location listings. There it all was. Very detailed and organized. All I ever dreamed of, all I thought I ever wanted. And on the last page, on the back cover of the folder, a pasted...