Last month, I attended my youngest daughter’s end-of-year school show (Calendar B) in Bogotá, which was titled “Where Everything Shines Again.” It was a musical that lasted a little over 90 minutes without an intermission. However, time flew by, and before I knew it, it was over.

In this regard, the work had as its central theme the visit of some grandchildren to their grandparents’ house and how they discover in the basement a trunk full of memories associated with their parents.

Then, amidst songs and choreographies from the 80s and 90s such as Footloose, Juana la cubana, Backstreet Boys, among others, and videos of children’s programs such as Xuxa and Nubeluz, accompanied by diverse objects such as a rotary dial telephone, an old radio with a cassette player, a 90s computer floppy disk, a Betamax videocassette, and much more.

Also this week I was in Buenos Aires, Argentina, because I had to take care of some legal matters and take the opportunity to visit my two eldest daughters who are studying there. However, since they were in class, taking exams, and fulfilling other obligations typical of their university and youth life, we only had a few hours and specific days to share lunch, dinner, go to the theater, or prepare a barbecue for my eldest daughter (who just turned 23 during those days) and her twelve friends, all of whom are aspiring doctors.

In that sense, both events, apart from being different, made me go back in time to my phases both as a son back in the 80s and 90s in Chiclayo, and as a father, in that case already in Lima between the years 2003 and 2020.

That’s why a variety of pleasant memories came flooding back. This is because in our daily lives we’re immersed in so many activities. This distracts us and prevents us from pausing. Therefore, I believe it’s essential to savor those simple yet memorable moments, both for ourselves and for our loved ones.

In relation to that, I share with you a short list of my memories.

• The afternoons of weekdays during my school days, when my mom used the “Uncle Johnny” program to get me to drink my glass of milk.
• Several Friday afternoons I would rent two Betamax cassettes in downtown Chiclayo at my dad’s request: a martial arts movie he liked and one of my favorites, so we could watch them together over the weekend.
• The first parties (1984) we attended with friends from the neighborhood. With just one invitation, at least six or seven of us would end up there.
• The phone call (March 1988) that I made from the phone booth on Shell Avenue in Miraflores – Lima, to my dad in Chiclayo to tell him that I had entered the University.
• The indescribable joy of June 10, 2003, when Mariana (our firstborn) arrived in our lives. Despite being premature and weighing only 1.410 kilos, she was already a fighter, as she was able to breathe on her own and only needed 15 days in an incubator.
• New happiness arrived in August 2006 and September 2010, with the arrival of Fatima and Belén respectively to the family.
• The weekends the five of us spent at a club in Santa Eulalia. And arriving home on Sunday evening and starting the ritual of bathing and then styling our hair; although I don’t think the girls liked how I styled their hair.
• Participating in a full-ball championship representing Fatima’s classroom and sharing those moments with her.
• Dancing with Belén, in front of her entire school, to a song associated with the 2018 Russia World Cup. Although I must confess that dancing is another area where I need to improve a lot.

In short, many memories, both of my original family and the family we’ve built with Jessica, which has now lasted 28 years. Obviously, it’s not a perfect family, but we continue to strive every day to improve.

I’d like to share some phrases related to the topic of the reference:

1. “Families are like branches on a tree. We grow in different directions, but good memories keep our roots together.” – Anonymous.
2. “There is no doubt that it is around the family and the home that all the greatest virtues are created, strengthened and maintained” – Winston Churchill.

And what about you? Is it your family where everything truly shines again? Finally, never forget: Row hard, out to sea, and against the current!