After 13 years of on-again, off-again bullshit, I definitely had that thought.

Then his wife reached out to me.

And whew… let’s just say some things became VERY clear.

In this episode, I’m talking about those relationships that keep us hanging onto “maybe.”

Maybe he’ll change.

Maybe he’ll grow up.

Maybe he’ll finally get it.

Maybe this time will actually be different.

I also talk about two completely different relationships my best friends went through, because unhealthy relationships don’t all look the same. Some are obvious from the outside, while others can fool damn near everybody.

And somehow, we can still find ourselves hanging on way longer than we should, hoping the person we fell for, or the "Maybe Man", eventually shows up.

And sometimes we spend way too much damn time in love with who somebody could be instead of paying attention to who they actually are.

Sometimes it really is just…

Same circus.

New clown.

Why is his plate coming first?

And the more I thought about it, the more I realized this is not really about a plate.

It’s about all the little things we grow up seeing and doing without ever really questioning them. Who gets served first. Who is expected to take care of everybody. Who gets to sit down while somebody else is still running around making sure everyone has what they need.

A lot of it is tradition. A lot of it is culture. And honestly, a lot of it is just stuff we learned because that’s what we saw growing up.

But at some point I started asking… why?

Why do we still do some of these things? Why are women expected to do so much of the taking care of? And when did some of this just become “normal”?

I’m not saying there’s one right answer. I’m just saying maybe some of this deserves a second look.

Because sometimes it really does start with something as simple as a plate.

I finally did it. I started the podcast.

In this little intro, I’m telling you who I am, why I created The Maria That Talks Back, and what you can expect from me here.

There will be conversations about family, faith, relationships, Latino culture, church, generational stuff, things that make no sense to me, things that irritate me, and probably a few things that get me in trouble. 😂

I’m not coming on here acting like I have all the answers or some professional podcaster, because I absolutely am not! I’m just saying the things I’m already thinking that other people may be thinking also, asking the questions people sometimes avoid, and talking about the messy parts of life that are actually worth talking about that people don't like talking about in our Latino culture.

Some episodes will be funny. Some will be serious. Some might make you say, “Girl… no.” And that’s okay.

This is my mess.

Welcome to The Maria That Talks Back.