Familiarity & Honor

I just drove into Mexico on a road I have known toda mi vida.

My father taught me how to drive when I was 11 years old, and by the time I was fourteen, I was helping him make the long drive south when he needed a rested.

We would come down through Missouri, Tulsa, the Oklahoma turnpikes, Dallas, Laredo, Monterrey, Saltillo, Matehuala, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, and eventually toward his land, now my land.

Back then, many of the roads in Mexico were still two-lane highways, where you had to pay attention, wait for the right moment, and rebasar a slower car or truck only when the road allowed it.

At the time, I thought I was simply learning how to drive.

Now, all these years later, I can see that I was also learning how to carry responsibility, how to read the road in front of me, and how to make my way between two countries that have both shaped who I am.

This time, I am driving back not only with memories, but with responsibilities that now belong to me.

Familia, Tierra, Bienes. Decisions. Stewardship.

And I am also going back to build a tribute for my parents, a nicho, so that their ashes can rest on our land that still carries so much of nuestra familia’s story.

There is something humbling about driving a road your father once guided you through and realizing that, somewhere along the way, you became the one entrusted with what comes next.

The road is familiar.

The honor is deep.

My Auténtico Self™