Patience to be Content

Hi there...

     I have another story to tell. Growing up as a child in the north West side of Shiprock Nee Mexico. Running around with hand-me-downs my hair so short I looked like a little boy. I constantly complained to myself about my hair being so short. Being mistaken for a little boy. It bothered me so much. I was very young but I knew I wanted long hair. But I look back and i understand why my hair was kept short. I was raised by my great-grandmother and my grandma. They were very busy women and had lives to live.

The reason I bring this story up is because of my great- grandmother. She is a woman of great teachings, a woman with a strong background, a woman who lived life her way. I spent a lot of time with her. She would let the goats and sheep out to the nearby stream. It was not that big of a herd but it big enough that she needed my help. Then we would also chase them out into a forest area owned by a neighbor. My great-grandma would ask first before we chased our herd onto their land. That was he kind of lady she was.

I would go to school in the morning and be home in the afternoon to help her. I enjoyed being with her. She never once stopped me from talking. I love talking and telling stories. And she did not mind. We would laugh and talk about my day or she would tell me about her day. I enjoyed her company so much. I would dance, tell her jokes, or just tell her a funny story. My great-grandma did not have no schooling and did not speak English so we communicated with our Navajo Language. I am sure it made her happy to hear a 5 year old talk to her in our language. It was so much easier for me at the time to speak in Navajo Language. She was my best friend. And I sure do miss her. 😢

All the moments we shared, looking back and remembering her smile and her laugh. She never had a complaint. Not once did I see her sad or angry about anything. It blows my mind how much we get annoyed or complain about the smallest things in today’s world. My great-grandma woke up early in the morning, before everyone else. I would be waiting for the bus in the morning and I would see her standing towards the East, when the sun would be coming up. I never understood why she did that but I eventually figured it out. Traditionally as a Navajo (Diné) woman she stands to the East, towards the sunrise (Preferably before the sun comes up) and she would pray with a sprinkle of corn pollen. Every morning. That was her daily start. Then she would have her coffee with breakfast after she would make milk for the little lambs and baby goats. If I was available to help, I enjoyed helping feed them. She was a very creative woman. Very ambitious and she did not know it. She would make her own clothes. She was very flashy so she would design and sew in sterling silver pieces to her collar on her velvet shirts. Her skirts would be silky satin to match her top. When she has important places to go she would dress up. On the days she did not have chores or things are finished, she made her living as a Navajo Rug Weaver. That was time consuming and I would just lay by her as she would weave. Hearing the repetition banging. Then by the afternoon she would build a fire in the wood stove and she would start cutting some meat up into slices. Then she would also make a small piece of dough to make tortillas on an open flame. Those are the best tortillas. We would go sit outside under the tree and eat lunch. It was the best moments. After lunch she would go back to her weaving. A couple of hours would pass and I would help her water the animal and graze in the pasture. By that time the family would be coming home and dinner would be started.

That was daily for her. So thinking about her and wondering about how life was so simple back then. It made me think about how she was happy with her life. Her life was filled with chores and things that needed to be done whether she wanted to or not. But she never complained about her life. It amazes me she was a woman of courage, wisdom and patience. My Masání was content with her life. My great-grandmother was 67 years older than I was 4 and I considered her my best friend. She was content with her life. That is amazing!

Today we will not leave our homes without our iPhones or our Starbucks coffee. Life is simple. We just make it seem difficult.

Thank you for reading my weekly Blog. Lots of love and Blessings to you..

Baa ahééh nisin 💋 (I am grateful)