Reflections of Love and Legacy: A Tribute to my Granny B

“Everything crafted by hand is also crafted by heart, for the hands and the heart are deeply connected.” My Granny’s hands told the most beautiful story. She baked homemade yeast rolls, sewed our clothes to perfection, braided my hair on the front porch, and tended to her flowers, bringing blooms to life with the same care she offered her family and community.

She was my heart, my petite powerhouse. Though small in stature, her presence was mighty. She didn’t speak loudly, but when she spoke….her words mattered. She was a woman of faith and fire, elegance, and endurance. A lady in every sense of the word. A true class act.

She was the family historian, a literal walking archive wrapped in beauty, nail polish, and grace.

She had photos in every corner with names stitched into her memory. She remembered so we wouldn’t forget. I am so glad I listened to her stories time and time again up until the point she couldn’t quite remember the same and then I began telling those same stories to her.

At our family reunions, she was the one you went to when you couldn’t remember who that cousin was or what year we took the picture by the plum tree.

Granny held the stories, but more than that she held us as the matriarch of our family. She held space for me when I couldn’t explain my sadness. She didn’t need the details. She saw the pain. And when I lost more than words could hold, she wrapped her arms around me like roots. She didn’t rush the silence or force joy. She just let me BE.

Granny,
You are the seed and the shade,
the blooming and the rain.
You are every good memory
in the soil of time.

And I am who I am
because of how you loved.

I carry your Love and Legacy with me every day!

-Talicia