Imagine getting a phone call from your mother saying check your email and she won't tell me what she sent. I open it and I look and she says.."this is your Great Great Grandmother who birthed me." Tears just start flowing because you finally get a maj
or puzzle piece you've been waiting for! Everyone please meet my Great Great Grandmother Lydia on the left, my Great Great Grand Uncle Ike and his wife my Great Great Grand Aunt Elizabeth.
I remember being about 5 months pregnant and going to a family reunion on my mother's side in Yemassee, SC on Cherokee Plantation. This is a huge piece of land that is now some sort of private resort and we had to get permission to enter. How ironic. My ancestors built it and I have to ask if it's ok to walk on it. *blank stare* But I understand business is business. We toured the land and there were several things that took my breath away. The reservoir that was gorgeous was built by my ancestors...no tractor trailers, no riding lawnmowers....just their buckets, and shovels and their body. *taking a breath* Then walking through the front door of the "Big House" and my mother gets emotional. It's the first time she's ever walked in there through the FRONT door even though she was born on that land. The final moment that will always stick with me. We found the grave of my Great Great Grandmother Lydia who was the midwife for my mother's birth. *closing my eyes and picturing the women welcoming my mother into the world and taking care of my Granny* Simple puzzle pieces. Tears for days. I now know what my son felt like when he got to finally meet his father for the first time. He had an expression of peace. To be so young and to have such an acknowledgement of who he is just speaks volumes to me now. I couldn't relate to his frustration because I grew up with both of my parents. I felt helpless because I didn't know what to say since I hadn't experienced that pain. Remember my post about pain being the gift no one wants but that everyone needs? It gives you empathy and I couldn't empathize with my own son, until now. To know where you came from puts puzzle pieces in their rightful place. That's HUGE! and such a terror to my sinuses! lol **blowing nose and sanitizing hands to continue typing**
I remember being about 5 months pregnant and going to a family reunion on my mother's side in Yemassee, SC on Cherokee Plantation. This is a huge piece of land that is now some sort of private resort and we had to get permission to enter. How ironic. My ancestors built it and I have to ask if it's ok to walk on it. *blank stare* But I understand business is business. We toured the land and there were several things that took my breath away. The reservoir that was gorgeous was built by my ancestors...no tractor trailers, no riding lawnmowers....just their buckets, and shovels and their body. *taking a breath* Then walking through the front door of the "Big House" and my mother gets emotional. It's the first time she's ever walked in there through the FRONT door even though she was born on that land. The final moment that will always stick with me. We found the grave of my Great Great Grandmother Lydia who was the midwife for my mother's birth. *closing my eyes and picturing the women welcoming my mother into the world and taking care of my Granny* Simple puzzle pieces. Tears for days. I now know what my son felt like when he got to finally meet his father for the first time. He had an expression of peace. To be so young and to have such an acknowledgement of who he is just speaks volumes to me now. I couldn't relate to his frustration because I grew up with both of my parents. I felt helpless because I didn't know what to say since I hadn't experienced that pain. Remember my post about pain being the gift no one wants but that everyone needs? It gives you empathy and I couldn't empathize with my own son, until now. To know where you came from puts puzzle pieces in their rightful place. That's HUGE! and such a terror to my sinuses! lol **blowing nose and sanitizing hands to continue typing**
Puzzle pieces. It makes even more sense why a puzzle is the symbol for Autism Awareness. All of the pieces are there but just to have them all fit together at the right time is the struggle. Having had some students who were autistic, I have a small inkling of an idea of what a mother of a child with autism must go through. Waiting eagerly for a puzzle piece to fall into its rightful place. I'm sure tears fall when it happens. I know it did whenever I got that to happen for that student who struggled. Puzzle pieces make me cry.
My mother always wondered what her Great Grandmother looked like. When she called me tonight and I heard the peace in her voice, I was elated for her. Her puzzle piece that she had been looking for allllll these years fell into place! My 3G Ma didn't take no mess from NOOOOOOBODY!! Can't you tell from her expression? And her daughter, My Great Grandmother, was Big Hat who was the ONLY woman on Cherokee Plantation with a car! POW! Now is it making sense how I got the way I am? I can't help BUT to grind daily and go wherever I need to go to make it happen! It's in my bloooood! lol I love it and I won't let their lives be in vain! EVERY opportunity that comes my way and it allows me to continue building a legacy that has their blood, sweat, and tears on it will be taken! I can't wait until my Big Hat puzzle pieces falls into its space!! OH and FYI, Cherokee Plantation the very land MY ancestors built is said to have caught Oprah's attention. Hmmmm.
Smooches!
Respect the Sway...and your puzzle!
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