For Helen Taylor of Snow Hill

So many great people have transitioned this year, however the greatest of them to me was Helen Taylor of Snow Hill, Md. My Grandma, who I affectionately called Mom Mom, has returned to forever. I imagine her soul flying through the beginning and end of everything to meet with Pop Pop, her children and her grandson. As a young girl, I watched Mom Mom and as I reflect now on those memories as we prepare to lay her to rest, I see the woman she was through different eyes. Only now am I able to deeply appreciate her knowing the struggle of being a black woman in this world.

I spent weeks in the summertime at Mom Mom's house in Snow Hill, Md. When my Dad drove down the long gravel driveway, you could hear the chickens roaming around near Pop Pop's garage. The cats Mom Mom fed scraps, scurried under the deck to hide from visitors. When I stepped out of the car, I smelled what can only be described as country, a mixture of field greens, manure and livestock. Even in my elementary years, I understood that I needed to convene with my ancestors to reset and restore my weary spirit. I was a sensitive and emotional child and I found comfort in the simplicity of their life. Even as an adult, I still would make a pilgrimage to Mom Mom's to reset although less often then when I was a child.

Mom Mom was a temple of precision and discipline. She rose early mornings and had worked out in the fields for hours before I even opened my eyes. We had breakfast and then washed up and dressed. Then it was chores followed by lunch. A brief afternoon rest on the porch and then she was off preparing dinner. All the while humming hymns and she would stop every day to recite Psalms 23 and say a prayer thanking God for waking her up. She walked miles every evening with her walking stick. The week was punctuated with trips to the store and ended with church and a large meal on Sunday. My Grandparents were self-sufficient people and owned their home and several acres of land. To me it was a beautiful life that I may never achieve thanks to the economic challenges of being a millennial.

Mom Mom shared so many jewels with me during my visits. Life philosophies I believe allowed her and my Pop Pop to live 94 years each. Mom Mom once told me, "I'm in my 60s and I have all of my teeth." She then went on to explain to me her brushing regiment. She told me after she brushed with fluoride toothpaste, she brushed with a little bit of baking soda. She told me baking soda was the secret to healthy teeth. One time, we stopped at the local pharmacy to pick-up cod-liver oil. Later, I would learn that it was good for managing blood pressure. She also took a little apple cider vinegar. She drank lots of water every day and you could be expected to be asked if you had a bowel movement. She made you drink water or prune juice, your choice, each day to make sure your bowels were in order. She studied health and was always imparting what she learned on me.

She tried hard to teach me how to make jellies, pepper relish, pies and rolls but try as I might I still never picked it up. It was fun watching her work. Her homemade goods were amazing. Anyone who knows me knows food is the way to my heart. Her food was the best kind of love one could feel. It saddens me to know I will not experience them the way she made them again. Like her, I start my mornings with a strong cup of coffee. I still love a good word search puzzle and girl talk on the porch with a cold drink in a mason jar. I also love to walk miles in the evenings.

Excuse me if I am romanticizing country living a bit too much. I know it is not as easy or simple as I describe it here for many reasons. I also know Mom Mom's life was not simple or easy. She lived through Jim Crow Laws, the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam, Iraq War and so on. Yet through all those major life events and advancements of society, she remained constant and steadfast in her beliefs. We all need something or someone to ground us amid ever-changing life. Mom Mom was always there waiting on Scotland Rd for me when I needed to be grounded in something which would not change.