Glass Ball Publications

Aunt Katie has many, many hats. One time when Mia visited, they tried on hats with feathers. Then some with lace, and some with jewels. “Let’s go to the Royal Wedding,” Aunt Katie said as she put on wedding music. They marched through the house, their fine hats waving at all the people.

“Let’s see what else is hiding in here,” said Aunt Katie, digging in the closet. She tossed out scarves, gloves, pocketbooks, and shoes. “Oh, look at this, it’s a hard hat that belonged to your Abuelo. I also have this batting helmet that had been your father’s.”

“Wow,” said Mia, “you have hats from everyone.”

“There are hats for any occasion,” said Aunt Katie, sitting in a pile of hats on the floor.

“Would you wear a special hat for my birthday on Saturday?” asked Mia.

“Certainly,” said Aunt Katie, and maybe I will bring you one too.

Mia was turning seven on Saturday, and her mother had invited all her aunts and uncles, grandparents, and cousins. Mamma was making a Tres leches cake with caramel sauce. It made Mia drool thinking about that sweet milky cake.

When people began arriving for the party, they brought presents of all sizes and shapes. Auntie Laine and Uncle Hector came first. Uncle Hector is funny, and Auntie Laine is beautiful and smells like a field of flowers.

Next came Aunt Paula and Mia’s cousin Emily. Aunt Paula sometimes took Mia to a show with Emily. Shows are full of songs and dancing, but you must sit still for a long time.

Mia’s grandparents came, and they brought a card from Aunt Isabella, who lives far away. Mia remembers when she sees Aunt Isabella, she pinches her cheeks and tells her she is getting big. Mia doesn’t mind the cheek pinching as long as her friends don’t see.

The room with the presents was filled. Mia snuck in for a peek as more people arrived. She hoped for a bike but didn’t see a big box. Mia’s mother saw her in the room and chased her out.

“No peeking. Go outside with your cousins and play until we’re ready for the party.”

“Ok,” said Mia, jumping around, “I’m just so excited!”

“I know,” laughed her mother, “but you have to wait.”

Mia and her cousins played hide and seek and then Mar Y Tierra* until they were tired and hungry. The adults finally called everyone to eat. When lunch was over, the family gathered for cake and presents. Mia sat in the center. Her mother brought her presents and cards.

Mia wiggled with excitement in her chair.

“Does she have ants in her pants?” asked Uncle Hector.

Everyone laughed, and Mia’s cheeks felt warm as she tried to sit still.

Auntie Laine’s present was a beautiful dress with embroidery.

“Thank you, Auntie Laine,” said Mia.

Aunt Paula gave her three action figures from the latest movie they had seen last month.

“This is great, thanks,” said Mia.

Aunt Isabella had sent her a nice card with some money.

“I’m going to save this to buy a bike,” said Mia.

Just then, her father rolled a bright blue bike out of the garage.

“Aye!” yelled Mia as she ran to the new bike. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Mia started to climb on the bike when her mother said, “One more present for you to open, Mia.”

Mia wondered how she could have missed it, but it was sitting on her chair. This gift was from Aunt Katie.

Mia pulled off the ribbon and the paper. Inside was a brand-new bike helmet with racing stripes on the side and a blue buckle.

“Thank you, Aunt Katie, this is the best hat ever.” Mia put on her new hat, climbed on her bike, and took it for a spin.

*Mar Y Tierra is a traditional game. Everyone lines up next to a line on the ground so they can jump to both sides. One side is mar (“sea”) and the other tierra (“land”). The person leading the game calls out "mar " or "tierra, " and the players jump across the line to the matching side. If the players jump to the wrong side, they are out.

It always starts slowly, then gradually the speed of calling the names increases. The leader tries to fool the group by calling the same side more than once.

How to Make a Person

If your assignment were to make a person, you would find a male and a female, they would have sex, get pregnant, and nine months later, voila, they created a person. If you gave the same assignment to a five-year-old, they would draw a circle, add a stick for their body, two sticks for the arms, and if they were getting down to details, they would add fingers. Then they would add two sticks for legs and a dash for feet. Next, they would add eyes, a nose, and then a mouth, hopefully, turned up in a smile.

But that was not the assignment. To make a person, you would start with over 200 bones to build the structure. Just like a five-year-old, you need to start with the framework. After you figure out the jigsaw of fitting all the bones together, add the muscles, tendons, and cartilage as support to hold it together.

You can look at your creation lovingly, but you have only started.

Look around at work, at the store, or on the street. Anyone you see has the same basic structure, so you need to move on and add more.

Now you can load in the organs - heart, lungs, etc., and then the circulatory system so oxygen, food, and water can nourish your creation, and finally add skin to hold it all together.

We hadn’t discussed what color or texture to use for the skin, but this is where some people get hung up. Why? The reason, as I understand it, is “this is what makes people 'different', but we haven’t made it to what makes the difference yet. Skin is just another biological organ. In fact, the largest organ.

Now, open your creation’s mouth and let its lungs fill with air. You have now made a person.

What will you call your person? Sue, Latoya, Harry, Jaylan, Kacey, Irina, Huang? Let’s call them 1A for the sake of this article.

When 1A began to breathe, they came alive, and so did a host of emotions. Emotions are necessary at the basic level for survival – fight or flight, love, which leads to the need to procreate, and hate, fear, frustration, apprehension, jealousy, joy, compassion, excitement, sadness, and more.

Emotions are challenging; hopefully, you've given 1A the resilience to navigate and manage the vast emotions they will experience.

Managing emotions can be challenging at times, but it's not a sign of weakness if you become overwhelmed. No one can escape feeling strong emotions. Joy can bring them to tears, but also lift them up.

What becomes a problem is when hate and fear rise to the top. Your creation faces failure when they can’t recognize that, below their emotions, is the same human as the other person in the store, on the street, next to them in traffic, on the plane, or on the bus.

You created 1A, and they are made of flesh and blood like all humans on this planet. We need 1A and all other humans to survive, to recognize our similarities, to celebrate our differences, and to understand the basic meaning of life – to care for one another.