My grandmother, Abuela Carmen, or Abuela, as I call her, is going to be 90 years old in December, and if there ever was a model of a woman, a warrior, and educator she is it. Im one of the lucky many who has the blessing of having a close relationship with my family's matriarch. Abuela got to the US of A, more specifically El Barrio, in the late 1940's, with my mom with a plane that had benches for seats and rope for a seat belt. They landed on an airstrip of mostly grass and weeds....I mean this was way back, planes weren't very insulated. It was so cold that a man lent his hat to my mom so she wouldn't freeze at 30 thousand feet.
Anyway, its just amazing to be able to sit with abuela and look into her eyes and see the years of wisdom appear as wrinkles on her face. However, today when I was with her for a visit we sat and I was mesmerized by her hands. It is from these hands I realized that this is the reason I am here. Its those hands that labored and struggled to ensure my mom had what she needed so my brother and could be here today. Its those hands that when I look at my own fill me with an un-measurable amount of Great-Fullness to be who I am today.
Abuela is an amazing woman. She is a mother, a grandmother, a great grand mother, an artist, an activist, and so much more, and I am filled with the upmost pride to know I have an abuela that does not rely on medications for anything. But its on reaching 90 that is truly amazing. I mean how many people do you know (and like) that are that age? And you know what, it makes me look forward to being older and growing old and what that experience will be like. I hope that I get to see and feel what it will be like to get old. A lot of people fear growing old, but why? Since its going to happen anyway, why not embrace it, love it, and welcome it as a sign that life could be great up until the end. Its also what you make of it. Of course everyone says that, but when you have an example the way I do I can totally say that growing old is an experience worth having. I guess what I look forward to most is growing old and having grand children I can pass on my own wisdom to.
Having my Abuela in my life fills me with a certain courage that can only come from someone like her. And I want to pass that courage along to you. Keeping our bodies looking good and staying healthy is important, but we must never forget to also keep our minds functioning properly. If I were to pick what the keys to living a full and healthy life are, they would be: Stay away from medications, eat healthy and regularly, love life, love beauty, and always keep your mind active. Be active in your home, with your family, and with your community. If nothing else, now that I think about it, what I said in my last blog, taking a stand for what we believe in is definitely a way to live for something. If I were to guess, my grandmother took a stand against this society that when she got off the plane by throwing obstacles in her way in the form of racism, sexism, and classism. She rose up to meet them because her stand at the time was providing a life for her daughter who is now my mother.
So again, lets a live a life of purpose and take a stand for what we believe in.
Peace
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