Growing up my
perception of the family union was via Black American sitcoms, hip hop and soul
songs or dramas and it was committed with utter perfection. Leaves of a family
tree gravitating to a matriarch's kitchen table laden with food that would
sustain ten armies. Generational branches momentarily re-twigging so aunts and
uncles become brothers and sisters again, distant cousins break through the
initial i-don't-know-you-but-i-know-we're-related ice to collectively roll
their eyes at disco parents, and the elders get to reign supreme with a view of
all that they have created and nurtured.
My childhood
experience amidst my Caribbean family certainly echoed with strains of what I
was seeing on TV; add a little curry goat and lovers rock and you're there. I
cherish memories of a beloved St Lucian aunt who would play the same reggae
song about ten times in the course of a visit and would sing with glorious
energy every single time and pull my awkward self to dance with her softness.
Or another Grenadian aunt-cum-grandmother who would cook the Sunday dinners of
all Sunday dinners then hold our mouth-watering attention whilst she prayed
with us over the good part of an hour; but the food and the love of her was
always worth the wait.
Two women who
I wish my daughters could have known, two women who, through the prism of my
young eyes, encapsulated warmth, love, joy, family.
Life's demands
can often fracture the ties that bind so I am now grateful that part of my clan
have reclaimed and reconstructed our family union for nearly 8 years. Where I
once stood as the child, cuddled and chided by grown ups, I now see the
children of then having children of their own, the parents change their status to
grandparents, the teenagers blossom into adulthood.
Our annual reunions which began as a necessary replanting of relationships, after a passing, have flourished into a happening that raises up the achievements and rites of passage amongst us, sustains the growth and collective need of an evolving family and cradles the sorrows within us. Our boughs reach from the newborn to the newcomers to the never-to-return; all life is within our roots.
And settling here on my branch, I will take time to cherish the view from here.
A view worth cherishing - what a fantastic family yours sound - worth more than gold. xxx
ReplyDeleteLike all families we have our ups and downs and turns and tumbles but it just seems that every year we grow stronger and I'm learning so much. So yeah that's gold! Thanks for the comment - looking forward to seeing you soon
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