You Know You're a Texan...

This should just be a quick, cute story about something that happened at dinner tonight, but since it is my blog and I like to be wordy, I am going to give you a whole bunch of history first.
I grew up in ElPaso, Texas. We moved there from Waco, Texas (where I was born) when I was three years old. Pretty soon, we had the middle-class tejano version of an au-pair. You see, 30 years ago (I don't know what it is like there now), all the families in our neighborhood had illegal Mexican girls living with them. They cooked, they cleaned, they were like second Moms. Only they were more like sisters. The girl that lived with us was named Amelia and we called her Mili. She was only 10 years older than me, but she, in so many ways, raised me. I grew up speaking Spanish because she spoke no English. I don't really remember learning Spanish, it just happened.
Anyway, Mili was an AWESOME cook! She made dinner most nights, and a lot of the time it was authentic homemade Mexican food. My brother-in-law recently asked me if I love Mexican food as much as my sister does. And I DO! I think I could live on it! Or at least have one Mexican meal a day! I consider it part of my heritage because it really was a strong part of the culture I grew up in. (Don't get me started on trying to find good Mexican food in Indiana....)
Tonight I made my absolute favorite Mexican dish for the very first time. It is my standard order at every Mexican restaurant, and it is kind of my barometer of whether or not the restaurant is any good. Don't get me wrong- I LOVE enchiladas, tacos, gorditas, (and pretty much everything else Mexican), but my favorite is flautas.
So, tonight we had flautas. They were SO yummy! Elias really liked them and told me that they were his favorite thing too. Then the following conversation occurred:
Mommy: Do you know what, Elias?
Elias: What?
Mommy: Mommy LOVES Mexican food!
Elias: Yeah.
Mommy: Do you know why?
Elias: (smiling) No.
Mommy: Because Mommy is a Mexican!
Elias: No you're not- you are a Texan!
(to which Daddy gives Elias a high-five)