What is a team
It matters who we have around us
“I shut my eyes in order to see”
Paul Gauguin
I am blessed to be able to share with you, really owing to the community of persons, both past and present that have been with me, Although some trails may have ended, either by death or transformation of relationships, I value each person that has helped me to calm my chaos.
Firstly, I thank my Mammy. This woman supported every dream I had, even though those dreams may have lasted at best six months sometimes. She contributed to it and never once asked in my fickle state if I knew what I really wanted. In retrospect , I didn’t know what I wanted but she still supported the dream. I knew I wanted more, but that’s where the buck stopped. I just wanted more. At that time, I didn’t know just what I wanted, so I just kept myself busy. For reference we’ll call it spinning top in mud. Not the scientific concept of rotational motion, balance, and momentum. But the good old fashioned, made from guava wood and malin that the young men in the Caribbean used to make long ago. She is no longer with me physically but the reminder of the sacrifices she made to support every one of my whims, even at her own expense. She has truly been the heaviest influence on the mom I am to my own daughters. We certainly had our fallouts, which I couldn’t see but I understand it better now raising my daughters. Neither of which was nor is an easy feat, yet still I trod on.
Speaking of treading, I along with two of my younger daughters visited a friend, who is one of my daughter’s ages and her mom who is my age in St, Mary’s Village Moruga, Trinidad. The day was amazing. We call distances more than 75km long heading south of our island, behind God’s back. So, as we set off for one-on-one conversation with God himself, we had the most natural experience hosted by the warm and loving family, pictured here. My daughters were introduced to a snippet of my childhood experience up the hill, that I was happy for them to have a semblance of my formative years. It was nostalgic for me, when life was less complicated with things and people were our drug of choice. Started with lunch, the colors on the plate did not disappoint. We Trinis like to eat with our eyes in more than one, as this is also referred to wanting more than what is presented on our plates.
After lunch, our gracious hostess took the girls to feed chickens, on a small hike, and the highlight of my visit was through the neighbor/family yard onto a wide expanse of planted land, with a dwelling place that had fireside oven, outside kitchen stand, wooden house, flambeau for lights and best of all pictures for the books. Of course it was taken by our hostess. I got my goodie bag to return from ‘the country’ with. Handmade with love items by consisted of ground turmeric, ground ginger, pimento flakes, all dried and milled by Simone, I also received creole rice, grown, and harvested by her husband, all pictured above. Farm to table experience, I am extremely grateful for an experience made beautiful by beauty full people. I am determined to feel the love around me. Thank you for being part of my journey, Ravelle.
Let’s create memories, craft our environment literally and design our lives.