So, for the longest time I've kind of obsessed with genealogy (the study of lineage from your home country). I've been spending more time with my grandmother Ms. De'essie Jefferson. One day after attending an assembly at my nieces school dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr., i decided to go spend some time with my grandma. I walked in to hear her on the phone as always and found her with a huge smile on her face. We began to make small talk about her health and my schooling and then the conversation turned-i couldn't have been more blessed or excited about the next hour of conversation that took place.
Me: So grandmama when you going back to Mississippi?
Grandma: Never! ain't nothing back there for me!
Me: All your folks back there...
Gmama:....
Me: grandmama do you remember your mother? Was she sweet?
Gmama: Was she? the nicest person i ever met. She taught me everything i know..about cooking, cleaning, taking care of children..
Me: What did she do for a living?
Gmama: cleaned up after white folks..see you my kids was spoiled. They used to mop the floor, i used a brush and scrubbed the floor. We used the iron you put on the fire, we hand washed our clothes on a washing board. I chopped wood, picked peas and cotton. i climbed trees and did everything my brothers did!
Me:..........
Gmama: you see i worked. i worked all my life. provided for my kids all by myself, now i just wanna rest.
Me:you deserve the rest.
We continued talking about the route that i would take in school and what my ambitions were. As we continued to talk i began to be filled with pride looking at MY grandma. MY grandmother-the first African American teacher's aide in the West Contra Costa School district. MY grandmother-raised SEVEN kids on her own! MY grandmother-who worked her whole life and is living in the house she brought! I couldn't be more proud to call her grandmama.
I think back to that old bill whiters song "grandma's hands" and i refer to what my grandma always tells me still: depend on yourself...
Thank you Grandma
Trice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXiE6zYHo2Y
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