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Albuquerque Blues

Javier Benites Dia de los Muertos figurine, photo by Merlina McGovern

 Another Albuquerque trip completed, another Dia de los Muertos figurine collected. Since I have to travel with these fragile pieces, I'm a bit afraid to pick up some of the more intricate designs. There are some amazing animal and group figurines that I'd love to add to my collection. But I liked this festive couple. I loved the hot pink dress and vibrant flowers against the somber (but dapper) dark tuxedo; the curving heart against the crisscross of bones and rictus smiles. These figurines always remind me of my sister. We both loved laughing at the dark, whistling past the graveyard. It's why I still love the fall, October most of all. I can't wait for this hot, sticky, humid summer to be done with.
photo by Merlina McGovern
It was hot and dry when we visited my sister's grave this year; it sounds like a cliche, but there indeed wasn't a cloud in the sky. Nothing but hot, clear azure until you hit the jutting Sandia mountains. My mom, dad, and I visited Julie, and as we do every year, we cried, but mostly we laughed. We recalled all of those times where hilarity broke out because of Julie. The time she surprised my parents with a visit in Texas. My little old parents pushing a door out against imagined burglars, and my sister pushing the door in wanting to surprise them. And then after the laughter and reminisces came the deep, sad silence. The awful ache of missing such a bright, happy part of our lives.
photo by Merlina McGovern
But a piece of her lives on in her children. My daughter was counting down the days when she could see her cousins, run around with them, expending boundless amounts of energy. We walked for hours in the baking Albuquerque sun as they raced back and forth between amusement park rides. I can see Julie in my nephew's mischievous grin and in my niece's delicate beauty. Just like the yellow rose, Julie was full of joy and exuberance. In Albuquerque, in the middle of sadness, I'm filled with love. I cherish my trips to visit my family in the burnt southwest. 

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