Lifestyle

Some babysitters are forever — just ask 'Señora Mimí'

Published

1 year ago

September 8, 2024

Some babysitters are forever — just ask 'Señora Mimí'

When Newbery Medalist Meg Medina was a kid, she had a babysitter — señora Mimí.

“She was sort of heavyset and she had dyed red hair and she had a gold tooth in the back and she had freckles on her hands,” remembers Medina.

She was a wonderful babysitter but kind of a pain in the neck, as well — Medina says you could look at the things on her coffee table, but you definitely couldn’t touch them. “She felt this was a very important skill,” she says. “We used to stand at that table and she’d have us practice, like putting our hands behind our back, and you could lean forward and look at all the pretty things.”

Then, when Medina was five years old, her mother announced that their family — tías and abuelos — would be coming from Cuba, and Medina’s grandmother would become her babysitter. Not without some glee, Medina fired señora Mimí immediately.

“I marched myself right up to that apartment. I said, ‘señora Mimí, lo siento. I’m very sorry but, you know, you’re out. My abuela is coming. I don’t need you anymore,’” Medina laughs. But the joke was on her — señora Mimí went exactly nowhere. She became friends with Medina’s grandmother, and they’d often drink coffee together. “She loved us,” says Medina.

Now, Meg Medina is honoring señora Mimí — and caregivers everywhere — in her new children’s book, No More Señora Mimí, illustrated by Brittany Cicchese.

“I knew from past research that Meg’s stories are all based a bit on her past experiences,” says Cicchese. She had a hunch that señora Mimí was based on a real person, but she emphatically did not want to know what she looked like. “Because as soon as I read the manuscript,” she explains, “I just had this image of who señora Mimí was. I could see her smile, the way she braided her hair, the way she walked. I knew that if I saw a photo, it would change it in some way. And I wanted to capture that initial energy.”

And, in fact, the fictional señora Mimí looks nothing like the real señora Mimí. In the book, señora Mimí is young — she has a “two-tooth” baby, Nelson, and a “no-tooth” dog named Pancho. She and the little girl in the story, Ana, wear cozy matching sweaters. There’s nary a gold tooth in sight. They eat buttered crackers together at the kitchen table.

“When I think of the breakfast of my childhood,” says Medina, “I think of my Cuban crackers and butter and that milky coffee.” Cicchese did want to see a photo of the crackers, to make sure she was getting them right — she also ordered some online to try.

Ana — like a young Meg Medina — starts out super excited that her abuela is coming. “I bet Abuela will let me stop and play whenever I want,” Ana tells señora Mimí.

“Abuela is coming to live with me!” Ana tells her teacher.

Until Ana realizes oh — a new babysitter means no more señora Mimí.

“This is a story that is quiet, right? The change that happens, happens quietly inside her,” says Medina.

No More Señora Mimí by Meg Medina and illustrated by Brittany Cicchese

Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA

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Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA

Ana realizes that she won’t be able to tell señora Mimí the best parts of her day, or open her lobby mailbox with the little silver key, or press the top elevator button anymore. In one of Cicchese’s illustrations, Ana sits under the table, curled up with a blanket and Pancho the dog. “No more señora Mimí,” Ana whispers to Pancho, sadly.

“That was so tender to me,” says Medina. “This moment where she can appreciate that she’s going to lose something. She’s gaining something. She’s also going to lose something.”

Illustrator Brittany Cicchese says she wanted No More Señora Mimí to be a comforting story with lots of warm tones. “You’ll see a lot of warm, glowing yellows and rosy pinks,” she says. Cicchese set the story during autumn, at the start of the school year, since it’s also a time of change. “I think that echoes the story quite nicely,” she says.

Cicchese did the illustrations digitally, but her background is in traditional art. “I approached the story very much with that traditional mindset in building up the pieces as if I were working on a real painting,” she explains. “That was really important to me to capture the looseness of traditional mediums like oil paints or oil pastels.” Cicchese says the other benefit of working digitally was that it allowed her to capture the light. “You can go in and you can almost make a piece glow.” And it does create a very warm, comforting effect.

No spoilers, but author Meg Medina says señora Mimí stayed a part of her life forever. “I hold a space for her in my heart,” she says. “Señora Mimí is not buried very far from my real abuela in Flushing, Queens,” Medina says. She wrote this children’s book in her honor.

“So many people raise kids,” Medina says. There’s our parents, of course, but also older siblings, teachers, cousins, librarians, and neighbors. It’s easy to forget just how many people have a role in helping raise us.

“It feels good to know that there’s this modern story for kids right now, but that there’s a piece of this story that’s also about remembering these wonderful women who helped raise me,” says Medina. “It feels like we’re paying them honor. You know, we’re just honoring their memory.”

No More Señora Mimí is written by Meg Medina and illustrated by Brittany Cicchese

Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA

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Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA

Lifestyle

Video: Penny, a Doberman Pinscher, Wins 150th Westminster Dog Show

Published

6 hours ago

February 4, 2026

Press Room

Video: Penny, a Doberman Pinscher, Wins 150th Westminster Dog Show

new video loaded: Penny, a Doberman Pinscher, Wins 150th Westminster Dog Show

Penny, an easygoing Doberman pinscher with a rich, shiny black coat, won the 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, becoming the fifth member of her breed to ever win best in show.

By Axel Boada

February 4, 2026

Lifestyle

Thank you for hiking with us!

Published

7 hours ago

February 4, 2026

Press Room

On Saturday morning, about 35 hikers and at least three dogs joined Times and Zócalo Public Square staffers for a history lesson and trek through Placerita Canyon State Park near Santa Clarita.

We gathered on a beautiful winter day outside the Placerita Canyon Nature Center, starting our adventure with gentle stretches led by Times wellness writer Deborah Vankin, who has written extensively on how to stay limber long into adulthood. We were soon greeted by Jack Levenberg, a docent and naturalist, with Sierra, a great horned owl, perched on his gloved hand. The raptor serves as an animal ambassador at the center.

Docent-naturalist Jack Levenberg introduces visitors at Placerita Canyon Nature Center to Sierra, an animal ambassador who lives at the center and provides education about raptors.

(Deborah Vankin / Los Angeles Times)

We started our hike by heading to the Oak of the Golden Dream, where gold was first discovered by colonizers in 1842.

Tataviam Land Conservancy board member and Cultural Bearer Kevin Nuñez led a historical discussion, explaining that his people of the village Japchibit are the original Indigenous people of the San Gabriel Mountains, and his family has a traceable lineage with Japchibit traceable through 1765.

“In the 1770s, the Spanish-made presence made land and began to build missions in the Los Angeles County area,” said Nuñez, the captain of Japchibit. “My family was impacted heavily because Japchibit was the political center of the Vanyume or Serrano people of the Antelope Valley and the San Gabriel Mountains.”

A man with a beaded necklace in the colors of a California red-sided garter snake speaks to a group near a large oak tree.

Afterward, our group headed to the Canyon Trail, a 3.6-mile out-and-back hike through a lush oak woodland alongside Placerita Creek.

We paused to smell the zesty aroma of California sagebrush, which grows all along the Canyon Trail. We also passed dense stands of thick-leaved yerba santa, California buckwheat, sugar bush and chilicothe vines and we were treated to the squawks of California scrub jays and a red-tail hawk flying overhead. A variety of hawks call Placerita Canyon their home.

Our group deftly made it over multiple water crossings and shared trekking poles and shoulders to ensure we all could make it safely through the creek. None of us left the canyon with dry feet, but we did end up with new friends.

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About 1½ miles in, we started to smell a sulfur-like aroma and knew we were close to one of the most interesting features of this hike. We trekked up a steep incline to quickly discover signs for white oil bubbling out of the ground.

“This very rare geologic feature of translucent petroleum has been filtered by nature,” the sign read. “This special resource originates from deep within the earth in the Placerita Schist basement complex of rocks.”

Soon after, we gathered under the shade of old oak trees at a large clearing with several picnic tables.

Just under two miles in, we rested at a large picnic area under the shade of old tall oak trees. A stone fireplace and concrete foundation were nearby, the last remains of a house that Frank Walker started to build but never finished. The Walker family lived on the land starting in the 1920s. We sat together for about 20 minutes, sharing our favorite local hikes, including the Gabrielino Trail that runs through the San Gabriel Mountains.

The hike was part of California 175 — What Connects California?, a suite of free Zócalo events and essays, bringing together leaders and thinkers from all walks of life to envision California’s next 175 years.

Please keep an eye out for the next Times subscriber hike, which will be sometime in the spring. In the meantime, want to learn more about the L.A. outdoors? Subscribe to The Wild, our (free!) weekly outdoors newsletter, where I provide you with the best places to hike around L.A. County. See you out there!

Lifestyle

You owe it to yourself to go on a solo trip. Here’s how to plan one

Published

18 hours ago

February 4, 2026

Press Room

You owe it to yourself to go on a solo trip. Here’s how to plan one

In 2024, I planned to travel by myself to Slovenia — a country I had fallen in love with during my first visit 20 years prior.

It was going to be the first time I’d left my two young children for a week, and I was nervous. What if something bad happened to them while I was gone? How long would it take me to rebook three flights and get home?

But as soon as I began wandering Slovenia’s capital of Ljubljana alone, I was flooded with relief — and excitement. I couldn’t wait to explore the Julian Alps and spend time in the toplice, or thermal spas, without having to break for nap time or search for kid-friendly snacks.

Traveling alone can be one of the most rewarding things you can do for yourself, says journalist Marquita Harris, who spent 2021 traveling the world solo through Airbnb’s Live Anywhere program. It can be empowering to learn that you are capable and resilient — and that you can trust yourself.

But it can also be a little scary, she adds. “When you don’t have to cater to your partner or a friend or your kids, you’re arriving at a destination where the only person you have to rely on is yourself.”

If you’re curious about traveling solo, here’s how to plan a trip — and what to expect.

View from the climb to Ljubljana Castle, the castle high above Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Author Amelia Edelman traveled solo to Slovenia in 2024. She shares the view from her climb to Ljubljana Castle, situated high above the country’s capital.

Amelia Edelman

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Amelia Edelman

Start small

To get a sense of how you plan, manage and meander when it’s all on you, go on a mini solo trip close to home, Harris says. “See if you can just have a beach day by yourself somewhere local.”

Photograph of a shadow of an airplane and two hards reaching for the airplane, against a yellow wall.

This can allow you to test the waters of solo travel and work up to bigger trips in the future.

Choose a destination that’s right for you

Ready for something more ambitious? Don’t just pick a destination that looks dreamy on Instagram. Choose a place that aligns with your unique trip goals.

Ask yourself: Why do I want to go on this trip? What do I want to do? Where do I want to go? How fast or slow do I want to move?

Use your answers to these questions to help you determine what type of solo trip — and destination — are right for you.

For example, if you’re reeling after a breakup or coping with burnout, you may want to book a chill mountainside cabin or stay somewhere with a spa. If you’re feeling energetic and psyched about meeting new people, head to your dream city across the planet and start exploring on foot.

Consider your comfort level

Aim for a place that’s navigable, welcoming and suited to how you want to travel.

Studio photograph showing a blue paper umbrella propped up in a mound of coins on sand in front of a pink and orange gradient backdrop

Start with a destination where you speak the language, Harris says. That can make it easier to get around, read signs and menus, and start conversations with locals.

Equally important is understanding how a place might feel for you. A destination that feels safe and joyful for one traveler may not for another.

Harris’ family, for example, advised her against traveling solo to Rio de Janeiro. But the city ended up being deeply affirming for Harris.

“I’ve never been to a place where so many people looked like me,” she says. “I will sing its praises, especially for Black travelers.”

A vertical photo showing a fancy pasta dish and two glasses of wine from a first-person perspective.

Edelman likes to keep things simple while solo traveling. She prefers sticking to just one course when dining, so it’s less of a production — but she won’t say no to tasting two wines.

Amelia Edelman

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Amelia Edelman

Beware the single supplement

While planning your trip, keep an eye out for the single supplement. It’s a premium that’s often charged to solo travelers by tours and cruise lines that could otherwise book two people into a room for a greater profit.

The add-on can range widely, from a $50-per-day single supplement on a 10-day Rick Steves tour to a full 200% of the stateroom cost on a Royal Caribbean cruise. (This is based on a double-occupancy stateroom; Royal Caribbean does have limited single-occupancy staterooms available.)

To determine whether there’s a single supplement on your tour or cruise, compare the cost of a double-occupancy room for two people versus a room for one, or inquire with the company if it’s not clear when booking on the site.

Joy Fox, a 90-year-old solo traveler who has been exploring the world on her own for nearly 70 years, recommends networks like Women Welcome Women World Wide and Solos. These organizations don’t charge the supplement and even provide additional resources and support that cater just to solo travelers.

Expect “traveler’s melancholy”

Even on the best solo trips, loneliness or sadness can rear their heads, especially if you find yourself alongside travelers who seem to all be paired up with friends, family or partners.

“They call it ‘traveler’s melancholy,’” Harris says. Eventually in her solo-travel year, “I got tired of myself. I needed to hear another voice besides my own.”

The author on a nighttime hike with new friends from her solo travels in Solčava, Slovenia, near the border with Austria.

Araceli Viqueira

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Araceli Viqueira

To cope with these feelings, Fox says to find small ways to make connections with others while traveling. “Smile. Give someone a compliment. Suddenly you’re not really on your own.”

And remember: Traveling by yourself does not mean you’re alone. “You’re gonna befriend the person who helps you up the mountain,” Harris says. “There’s always a friend somewhere.”

As for my “Solo-venia” trip, as I called it, of course there were moments when I missed my kids or surveyed a romantic sunset over the mountains and wished my partner were beside me.

But mostly, I traipsed through the forest on night hikes, met new friends from a dozen different countries and tried countless kinds of Slovenian wine — all without any tiny hands tugging at my clothes or little voices admitting, “Mama, I peed.” And that was worth every minute of my unwarranted pre-trip jitters.

Amelia Edelman is a writer, editor and content strategist who has worked with outlets such as the BBC, Lonely Planet and Travel + Leisure. She has traveled to 38 countries, often with her kids.

The story was edited by Malaka Gharib. Beck Harlan is the visual editor. We’d love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at LifeKit@npr.org.

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