Foreword
This is the story of the life and loves of Oscar Ivan Solis, who, I’m proud to say, is my son. He describes his family, his home towns, his schools, his friends and his favorite things. It is an interesting insight into his young 10 year old mind.
Who is Oscar? Oscar is molded by the mix of two very different families and environments. His father’s parents were born in a small ranch in the Sierra. The ranch, to this day does not have running water or even rudimentary toilets. They installed electricity sometime this century. His grandmother could not read or write, and his grandfather learned while doing his military service. They got married when she was 14 and soon moved to the city of Leon. Little by little they built a life for themselves and their daughter in the city, and they helped most of her siblings (14 in total) to move to Leon. By the time Oscar’s father, Francisco, was born, 12 years later, they still had many family members sharing their small house. He grew up amongst uncles and cousins. He did not have a TV until he was in middle school. Francisco now has a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Arizona, and is a well respected professor in Guanajuato. He is still very close to his mother’s family, and Oscar has grown up playing with his hundreds of cousins. Francisco is one of two members of his generation to finish college, and of only a handful to finish high school. They are a traditional close knit Mexican family of modest means, and wonderful people to grow up with as they set an example of warmth and family values.
My family is mostly highly educated, with most of us holding graduate degrees. We live in Mexico, the U.S., Austria, Germany and Spain. We are small and very much spread apart in age. We seldom get together, although we enjoy it very much. Oscar has traveled to Europe to visit my family, but knows most of them little. Oscar has been around mathematicians all his life, and gets his keen interest in history and animals from my step father, who has a knack of teaching him things in a fun way. My mother has always worried about Oscar getting all his food groups and adequate literature. If it was up to her, Oscar would live in a plastic bubble revered by the rest of humanity (he is the only grandchild!).
Oscar has suffered and enjoyed being an only child during most of his life. His father and I got divorced when he was 6, and ever since we have lived in different cities, or as now, different countries. Oscar has gotten used to having two homes and two families. Both his father and I are remarried. My husband has two children from a previous marriage, whom Oscar proudly calls “his step-siblings.” His father and his wife welcomed a new baby girl, Abril, this year.
So who is Oscar? He is a caring, sensitive, intelligent boy who loves to read encyclopedias and Newsweek. He is terribly inquisitive and would like his mom to know everything. Unfortunately, he has come to a point where he knows a lot more than I do, which frustrates him terribly, but secretly makes me very proud (and thankful for the internet!). He is messy and forgetful, but believes in being responsible. He is a good friend and a pet lover. Not particularly fond of sports, more of an intellectual…
This is his story in a nut shell. But to me, the most important question is what life holds for him in the future. I expect Oscar to become a great scientist of some sort… or maybe a politician? Or an economist? Definitely not a quarterback! Possibly an actor? He loves to make people laugh. It is so amazing to look at him and know he has his whole life before him, with endless opportunities within his reach if he is willing to make the effort to run the extra mile.
Helga Abreu
Missouri City, TX December 12, 2008.
