19/03/2024
Hello Neighbor, draw close and let me tell you a story.
Aunty T, as we affectionately call her, is a woman who wears many hats. While some of us are known for just a couple of things, she can be described as an all-round woman. In one moment, she is the mother of two biological children and eight adopted ones, some of which were from siblings who had passed on, leaving their children orphaned. She lovingly took them in to raise them as her own. Additionally, she is the head and founder of a thriving church with about 700 plus membership and owns a chain of businesses, including a construction company, a grocery shop, and a restaurant, just to mention a few.
I would normally see her on my morning walks, always with a bright smile on her face. One of her favorite things to do was going round the neighborhood picking herbs on her morning walks, with dandelions being one of her favorites. You would never see her without dandelions. One interesting thing about her was her in-depth knowledge about herbal plants and using food as medicine. I remember one time where she instructed a cousin of mine to use herrings to prepare palm nut soup coupled with some herbs in the soup preparations to be eaten with plantain. I was amazed at what this simple recipe was intended to heal. My cousin had her period delayed for almost a year, and all the trips to the hospitals had proved futile. However, after trying this recipe for seven days as directed by Aunty T, her period began to flow. I had never witnessed something like that before. To say I was intrigued would be an understatement.
A couple of months ago, I was told by my neighbor back home that Aunty T had finally relocated to Europe to be with her husband after 20 years of being apart from each other. I was over the moon because I could understand the struggles and challenges with my own family being apart for a few years. In a recent conversation with my mom, I found out Aunty T had passed on, three months after she arrived in Europe. Apparently, she had been struggling with an undiagnosed terminal illness. Lately, each time I see a DANDELION, I am reminded of Aunty T and her warm smiles.
Do you have any object or thing that triggers a memory? It doesn’t have to be someone who has passed on. It can be a living person and the emotions they sort of stir up. Kindly share a clear photo of the said object and share the story behind it.
