I Know Who I Am

In Honor of Mother’s Day- a gift to all of you!

I know who I am
On my left arm I wear six slim silver bracelets. A gift from my mother.
They belonged to her sisters and to her. One for each of them.
I know who I am because of who they are.
I am the product of women who rode many miles in wagons and in boats to get here.
Who washed and scrubbed and fed and sewed by hand.
Women who dug outhouses and milked cows.
I know who I am because of who they are.
Women who persevered through hardship and loss,
who believed that you stand with your face into the wind
and move forward because laying down never occurred to them.
And I know who I am because of who they are.
They were tagged with names that were meant for insult but only made them stronger:
Mule! Dragon lady!
And I know who I am because of who they are.
They are the ones of quiet faith, who proclaim God’s grace through acts of mercy:
taking in the homeless mother and child, raking the leaves of the “old” lady down the street,
teaching the girl with the absent mother to sew the perfect stitch.
Their bible on the coffee table with the creased pages.
And I know who I am because of who they are.
When I look in the mirror, I see the lines that have formed around my eyes & mouth.
They look familiar- I am familiar because I have seen this face before.
It is the face of the women who have been my stronghold. I am them…
And I know who I am because of who they are.

We’ll talk later.
Blessings,
Gayle