14/11/2025
Today, my heart remembers my grandma… the woman who practically raised me.
My mum always tells the story of how Mama came to us the very moment I was born. She stepped in so completely that when my mum had to leave for army training for a whole year, Mama became my everything. And she took that job seriously. She nurtured me a little too well, I was not allowed to play in the sun, she did not let anyone carry me, and by the time my mum came back, I was big… with bow legs from eating too much and playing too little. That was how protective she was.
Growing up with her was like growing up in a warm hug. I would come back from primary school and she already had lunch waiting 😅 boiled sweet potatoes, rice, anything. There was always food. Always love. Maybe because of how close we were, I followed her everywhere… even to church. I was tied to her apron.
I remember making her hair, touching her soft, woolly white strands, and she would always say, “Hold it tight, the tighter the better.” Mama loved me in all the quiet ways that stay with you forever. She would leave meat on her plate and keep it for me when I returned to clear the table. She kept her money inside her Bible, and she taught me songs, translating what she could so I would understand.
I miss all of that.
I miss her.
I admit I did not always appreciate the depth of that love while she was here. But now that she is gone, I feel it even more, every memory, every lesson, every warm bowl of food waiting for me after school.
Rest well, my love.
Rest well, Mama.
You will always stay with me.
