I did not have any requests this Christmas except for my BFF (my Dad) to be on this earth, in good health and in a good mood. I GOT THAT, so I was not really looking for anything more. Leave it to my sister Candy to give me a gift that will continually give back and help me to grow. After all, life becomes more and more interesting when we allow ourselves to continually grow.....or it should. My sister told me that she was inviting two special cousins of ours, one of which goes to her Church. I thought nothing of this. We are big on finding family and embracing them. My Mom gave us this gift of fellowship and knowing where you are from and who you are. My Dad just wanted his "Happy Bunch" to be together for the holiday.
When Ernestine and Katherine Hargrove showed up.....it was a surreal moment. Ernestine looks like she could be my sister's twin.......Katherine was the same height as my sister, so I thought....yep they are related to at least Candy for sure!!! After talking to each of them in depth, it was clear that my roots are solid and that I have inherited my love of the land honestly....as well as my gift of writing and gab. Ernestine was sharing with me that she used to live in Atlanta and has a certificate in floral arranging, is a journalist...and she gardens organically, with love and passion. I can't wait to see her garden. Katherine shared with me her commitment to fair trade, giving back to the community on some level, stories about my ancestry and about her love of growing herbs. She also shared with me that her grandfather grew herbs as there was no doctor that served Negro's in the rural part of North Carolina where they lived, so he grew all kinds of herbs, made potions/tinctures to break fevers and cure sicknesses that were prevalent back in the day. Katherine shared a few brief stories of my ancestors that were intriguing and left me wanting more. How wonderful it is that both sides of my heritage were Stewards of the land. I am more than ever convinced that if we go back to the land, we can become more grounded and fulfilled with our existence.
I cannot tell you how much this Christmas has meant to me. My dad loved his digging bar (the other one got misplaced), I am planning on getting to know my gardening buddy/cousin Ernestine and begin to work on knowing more about my great grandmothers brother (oldest children of Lemon and Orilla of Snow Hill, North Carolina) and his love of herb doctoring in his community from cousin Katherine.
A lot of people received materialistic things for Christmas, some people received gifts that can only keep giving and get better with time, some people received unexpected gifts that help them grow and stay excited about life. I am so happy as I got all three. My Amaryllis even sent up another leaf today...so it is a good day all around!!!!
I sincerely hope that this Christmas was all that you wanted it to be and more. I am emotionally overwhelmed because I think I talked Katherine's ears off and can't wait to see if the tool that Ernestine has is really a trake (she was not sure).....or if she needs one .......this is my favorite tool in the whole world). My dad wore his out and is on his second one!!!!
I am now officially ready for 2013!!! Learn your roots.............find out who you are and enjoy the discovery of it all!!!
My FAMILY - Katherine, My BFF (in the middle smiing) and Ernestine!!!!
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