Sunday, November 23rd, 2008
My grandfather and I discussed writing. I told him how many novels I had to read for just one literature class in Oxford and he told me, “baby, it takes me so long to get through one page, stumbling through all those words. The only way I’ll ever read a long book is if someone finds a good, long western and buys it for me.”
He would read it just because someone had given it to him, if nothing else. He’d struggle through the small print and tedious scenic descriptions because he wouldn’t want to waste someone’s kind intentions. There was a pleasant pause in our conversation, and he sat rocking in his chair while I flipped through a magazine that was sitting on their crystal dining room table. That table always seemed so impractical to me, but it made my grandmother happy because it sparkled and made my grandfather happy because it made my aunt happy who had bought it for them. My grandfather’s arm shot up (in slow motion) and he shook his finger in the air a few times. “I have something for you baby…” he said. “I thought maybe you’d like to read it. I found my great grandmother’s journal. We were hiding it until her daughter died—she wrote some things about how they didn’t get along…Let me go get it.” I smiled. I smiled because I was genuinely too excited not to smile. “Oh really?” I said as he made his way out of the room. I was excited. I was thrilled, really—to read someone’s deepest thoughts. To find treasures inside written memories or poems or even an old “To-do List.”
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Saturday, October 4th, 2008
We are camped beside the Colorado trouble here again stalks us, why can they not just leave us be we are fed,housed,and clean?
No children were ever more loved even if we lived in tents, we are here for special reasons it is life lessons grandmother teaches. We are here for a gather kin are coming who were scattered,grandmother walks away to a small hill this time I can not follow.
I hear her voice raised in prayer singing softly very old words,even the heart and spirit of a child of four understands this is sacred.
Suddenly all is chaos everyone is running lights are shining in our eyes,a white man in uniform demanding to see everything in our camp.
Someone he said reported wild parties, drugs, and drinking, instead he found us a simple extended family here to learn from the Water. Grandmother stood proudly before this man who sneered at her,head held high she told him we are here for connections to our spirits. You will find no evil things here only love and caring, we sing and drum sending our prayers upon the wind with sage and sweet grass only. They gave us only three days then we must move on, they did not like our kind he said hanging around making messes,we made the good folks nervous.
You people need to live like humans give those children real homes, but not here in our town there are enough here on welfare already.
He could not see or understand our life was the better one, not cramped into a small house but free to share the wind and see Father Sky above us.
To this day I am thankful for the childhood grandmother gave us,we worked hard and asked no one for handouts we lived the way of our ancestors.
No,our path was not an easy one we faced many troubles,yet we lived in freedom proud of who and what we were and learning from all
spirits!
granny!
we “cry” freedom, when in truth we beg for chains
Posted in Inpirational Experiences, Parenting Experiences | No Comments »
Monday, July 28th, 2008
I wonder if my kids understand the importance of cultivating, nurturing and maintaining healthy loving relationships. Do they understand that you can have a garage full of nice cars, big houses, fancy vacations, designer clothes but still be one of the loneliest, most unhappy people in the world. Think about it, if you knew your kids were going to be financially sound and have nice houses and cars but hadn’t talked to their sister or brother in a year OR worse yet even you, would it break your heart? We take for granted the closeness and tight bonds we have with them while they are young. We have control of this right now, but when they are grown whatever relationships we want to have with them might solely depend on them and what values we have imparted. And furthermore, what they have watched us do!
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Saturday, February 23rd, 2008
How often do we take the people around us for granted, especially those closest to us? Often I would say. Because they seem to be always around, we don’t think much about appreciating them and letting them know we love them.
Ever since childhood, my grandmother Susie had been there for me. she always gave selflessly and made sure we got the best things even though she wasn’t all that affluent. After I married, I moved to another state and busied myself with work and my immediate family. Susie couldn’t visit because of ill health, while I kept using my job as an excuse not to visit her. Just a year back, my aunt told me Susie had passed on quietly in her sleep. At first I didn’t believe it. But then it hit me. I wept bitterly the whole night. I realized that never once had I told her how much I loved her. All it would have taken me was a few minutes of my time to give her a call but I had not done so. Now I know how important it is to tell those you love how you feel.
The simple lesson - don’t wait till it is too late to tell someone you love him/her. What may seem so insignificant may haunt you for the rest of your life.
Breeze
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