It's a Wonderful Life
The holiday season is here and along with it comes the memories of loved ones once shared. After all my reflections about Ma, I think I've finally found the words to express what it is about her passing that has been the hardest to reconcile. Ma saw the best in me, even when I couldn't see it in myself. She would polish me up and give me the confidence I was missing. She, like mother nature specialized in turning coal into diamond. Perfect example of this was in 2002. I was in college, fumbling and struggling. In our daily conversations I would attempt to present my best self, but there was never any fooling her. She asked the difficult questions, to wade through my facade and found the encouraging words I needed to hear. Once it was time to come home, I remember her assessing me at the airport and immediately coming up with a plan of action to cultivate and heal wounds I hadn't even realized were there. She was my personal pit crew, able to assess and fix what ailed me until I was seemingly like new once again. I only hope I can be that in tuned with my kids, when they need it, for me she was the best.
This time of year was our most creative and festive. Mama, my brother Dante and I, would be working on our Kwanzaa presentation. It would entail remixing a classic R&B song we all knew, to teach about a specific principle. Our motto was to give the kind of presentation we would want to sit through. And every year without fail we would show up and show out! But what people don't know was how much fun we had brainstorming, planning and practicing with each other for weeks before the performance. It was how we got to reconnect. Looking back at it, she let us play to our strengths to keep us engaged. We all had a part in the presentation and were proud of the product by the time we had to present in front of the whole family. Again, she was cultivating in us certain skills that we will use throughout our life.
Around this time every year, Mama's favorite movie is played on television, It's a Wonderful Life. And if I had to come up with a title to describe our life together, that one might sum it up best of all.
After a good polish in 2002.
This time of year was our most creative and festive. Mama, my brother Dante and I, would be working on our Kwanzaa presentation. It would entail remixing a classic R&B song we all knew, to teach about a specific principle. Our motto was to give the kind of presentation we would want to sit through. And every year without fail we would show up and show out! But what people don't know was how much fun we had brainstorming, planning and practicing with each other for weeks before the performance. It was how we got to reconnect. Looking back at it, she let us play to our strengths to keep us engaged. We all had a part in the presentation and were proud of the product by the time we had to present in front of the whole family. Again, she was cultivating in us certain skills that we will use throughout our life.
Around this time every year, Mama's favorite movie is played on television, It's a Wonderful Life. And if I had to come up with a title to describe our life together, that one might sum it up best of all.
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