This is not your average blog post.
"Why not?", you may ask. Because, my dear reader, this is the story of my life. An untold, never-before read, insight on how the great women I met throughout my life, so far, have inspired and encouraged me going forward.
I come from a lineage of very strong women - strong-willed, fighters, filled with compassion, loving women. They are my foundation. I am their legacy.
This is my grandma.
My grandma's name is Angelita. She is a true inspiration to me.
To be honest with you, I didn't grow up knowing a lot about my grandma or her family, for that matter. She has always been grandma. My mom's mom, my uncles and aunties' mom.
She lived in the capital and we didn't see each other very often. However, in the beginning of the 90's she moved to my hometown and I am so grateful she did so! Around that same time, Brazil (Yes, I come from this amazing country!) went through a huge economic crisis and a lot of good people lost their jobs. My mom was one of those people.
Even though she tried her best to not let me perceive how serious the situation was, my mom was struggling. And that, right there, my friends, is when my Grandma impacted my life forever.
My Voinha, as we call her, didn't have any obligations towards me. Yet, she brought me into her home, into her life, because, in her words, "a child should never have to be a witness of a parent's misfortune". She did for me the same thing she did for her own children, more than 40 years prior to that Tuesday afternoon in 1992.
Grandma with her 8 kids.
RESILIENCE is key.
Alone with 8 kids in the beginning of the 70's, my grandma had to reinvent herself after she and my grandpa got divorced. She is an excelent cook and a very skilled seamstress. I have never seen her wear anything that was shop-bought - as long as she could, she sewed her own clothes. And her kids' as well. Then, when the time came, she did that for me too.
She made fruit compotes of all sorts to sell, repaired and made many dresses and other clothes from scratch. Her kids started to work from an early age, so they all could make ends meet. Life has made her tough. Strict in her words, rarely sharing a hug. However, behind that stubborness, there is a heart always willing to serve.
My grandma is my hero.
I lived under her guardianship for 4 years - from 8 until 12 years old. It wasn't a sea of roses, trust me. She was firm. Never afraid of speaking her mind, never bowing to any of my sassy behaviors. ;)
Many years went by. Today, her legs are not as strong, the cooking is almost non-existing and someone else has to sew her clothes for her. But she is still my hero.
If I know how to cook today, she taught me that. If I know how to take care of my home today, it's because she was the first setting the example.
In 2017, after many years living abroad, I went to visit her again and OMG!!! it was amazing. I was not a little girl or a stubborn teenager. I was an adult, getting to know my Grandma as I had never done before. It felt as it was the very first time I was seeing her.
We shared tears, A LOT of laughs and, least but not last, stories of a life lived for serving others. In her own way, under her own terms, but serving.
My Grandma is 87 years old today. She lives in a little farm, alongside one of my uncles and his wife, where they run a restaurant.
A great dream of mine is to bring her on a trip to Denmark, but she says that no money in the world can take her away from the farm. lol!
I chose her to start this series because she taught me how to be resilient. And that is a great place to start. <3
Grandma in 2017
