Grandma’s Hands

My grandma hands

They offered so much. My maternal grandmother was everything to me. She is the main reason I care about what I eat, how I relate to nature and how I understand what I eat is a direct reflection of my physical state. They created, crafted, loved, taught, molded, picked, pruned, plucked… they provided so much for so many. Her hands were an extension of her fierceness. She was a strong yet gentle woman who lived a short yet full life. I wish she could see the world as it is today to offer her homegrown remedies and guidance.

I remember how she was quicker to provide a remedy crafted by hand at home, over a store bought pill or solution made in a laboratory. She knew that for a healthy body, mind and soul we need to consume medicines created from plants, directly sourced from the earth. She knew because her mother knew, because her mother knew and so forth…

When I was small, she would take trips to the country to gather fresh fruits and vegetables from our family’s farm. She pulled, and plucked, and picked with those hands - the land sustained us and in turn she too was sustained. We knew, understood and were directly connected to what sustained us. We were connected to our food, and to the land - and that respect was reciprocated.

My grandmother is not unlike your grandmother perhaps. She made sure to spread her wisdom so as to keep the information flowing throughout our family, and she did so in a way that never made us feel we were being taught. She simply went about her days as she often did. Her teaching was displayed in her actions, interactions and reactions. Thankfully, I studied her as if in school and I remember everything…

I miss those hands.