Sitting With My "Grandmother"

Tuesday June 18^th, 2013

This morning I sat in our neighbors, my mama’s mother in laws, front yard while she did her laundry and tried to communicate with me the best she could with the broken English.  She’s my papa’s mama.

This came from sitting there…

Grandmothers Wash

Scrub, Scrub, Rinse

Swat

The flies buzz all around me as the sun warms my skin

She lets out little grunts and scowls at stains she comes across

I just keep watching her

My own grandmother’s image comes to my mind

Bent back, arthritis but still working away for she must

They must

Is it their duty as women here?

As caregivers?

Or so they’ve always been told

I wonder if they’ve thought or ever imagined that there was a life beyond cleaning, cooking and caring for others.

That they too could have their own dreams and follow them

That there was a whole world out there beyond looking after and making breakfast for their family

I wonder if she had any dreams of creative endeavors that were quickly silenced by her position

Their creativity must be poured into how to get all their chores done before the sun goes down

She brings me a pot full of shelled macadamia nuts and proceeds to show me how to open them against a big rock

Crack, crash, boom

One emerges

She speaks no English but still tries to make sure I am comfortable

“Am I cold?” She manages to communicate by shivering

“Was I sleeping?” She motions putting two hands underneath her head and closing her eyes.

She smiles and nods at me.

I want to stay there forever and just be with her

Like I would with my own grandmother

She brings out a chair for me to sit on.

She dusts it off and I sit down.

After spending time with my mother in law we left our communities for Nelspriut for a resort lodging place called Bundu. Here we will be doing TIU (ThinkImpact University) where we will be going over the training and curriculum with the students before they get into their villages.