Abuela

I, an abuela-aged woman of Northern European ancestry, have lived within 50 miles of the Mexican border most of my life. Mexican culture is part of my life as much as any of my DNA cultures, if not more, and I love it all.

8 a.m. Wake up early for breakfast at an abuela’s house

[L]ook no further than this week’s surreal exchange between Sen. Josh Hawley and a Berkeley law professor insisting that men can and do get pregnant. Yes, that happened, in a Senate hearing. You say that to an abuela, and the most likely response will be “que?” followed by a quick “adios!”

On the east side of San Jose, Calif., there is an abuela who seems to have more grandchildren than she can count.

Together, the abuelas wrote pleading letters to international organizations and the pope, and posed as baby supply saleswomen and housekeepers to more closely surveil children they thought might be their relations.

I speak of Yemeni bodega owners and Mexican abuelas.