My Grandma
What a darling creature must that old man have had! Embodied with innate intelligence, self-assurance, and confidence gained from experience. The kind of wisdom that is not found in classrooms, because during her school-going age, many people hardly stepped a foot in a classroom. My grandmother was a special gift from heaven loaded with the much-needed humanity to earth. Growing up around her was a school in itself. Starting from how to prepare simple foods, how to sit down in public as a woman, to how to keep time. She was like a mother and a grandma at the same time because of the much time I spent with her while my parents were at work. My grandmother was an amazing woman and I developed into the person I am through her academy of life.
The lady had been through a lot in her life prompting to a significant change of appearance of her skin. One good trait she was raised to adhere to is the importance of hard work. Going to the farms and toiling all day was the norm, as she used to narrate. This caused her a lot of experience and at least every scar she got had a story related to her hustles to become a better woman. Toiling in the sunny garden caused her wrinkles on her skin and her hair had transformed through all the colors imaginable!
My grandmother was a prolific narrator with her stories being like the Aesop’s Fables, stories that have an intended lesson to humans. Having been the firstborn in a family of many siblings, she assumed the responsibility of looking after her younger siblings whenever parents were away. It is notable in the narration that during her young age, placing a plate on the table was an unpredictable occurrence and sometimes they lived from hand-to-mouth. As such, sometimes she was required to forgo a meal so that the younger siblings can have some. What an ordeal! This, as she stated, “taught me to always share the little I have and spread love to those who need it the most”
It can never be overlooked how she was a tough woman. The type that in case of messing up anything, it was only advisable to steer clear of her way. She was a strong believer of the saying that, spare the rod and spoil the child. Discipline and good morals were all she expected from everyone in the family. If she got hold of a child in the wrong, her work-hardened hands full of thickened veins perfected the art of instilling discipline. A religious upbringing had taught her the relationship between good morals and a good life.
My grandmother was a strong woman. She bounded her family together with compassion and love. Complimented her grandchildren with words like “good girl” after little accomplishments. She saw possibilities from an optimistic angle. My grandmother taught her family to always have hope regardless of the uncertainty of the current situation. She never lost it and never complained of what life had given her. She remained contended of the little grace and achievements of her life and family.
She grew old and eventually her health derailed. She would later develop an illness that never let her off. Her memory was lost and could not even remember her children. I saw her hospitalized and was heartbroken. She looked frail and could not recognize me. She had developed cancer of the breast that had affected every aspect of her life. My grandma lost the battle to cancer in 2019. It was the most psychological unrest I had to go through. A devastating moment to an extent I broke into tears and for close to two weeks I was feeling sick. However, having share a lifetime with her is a sweet memory. She is forever in my mind and I see her whenever I see a great woman around. It clicks to my mind that one does not have to be filthily rich or famous to be a great person and inspire a generation. She inspires me to work hard and I believe she proudly watches over me all the time.