This is my history. This is me, standing in the middle. Behind me are two of the women that came before me. In front are the woman and the soon to be woman that came after me.
There is power in these photos. The power of continuance. The power of an unbroken thread, that came down through history, passes through me and then continues on into the future...
The woman on the left is my Grandmother. She was an incredible woman. She was loving and strong. I owe her my life. I lived with her and my Granddad, for the first seven years of my life. The unconditional love and security that she gave me during those years, gave me the strength to survive the bad years. I will always be grateful to her for those gifts.
The woman on the right is my Mother. Until I was 7 years old, I thought she was my Aunt. My relationship with her is and has always been, very difficult. I have a number of half written posts on my blog, about our relationship, that I will post one day.
This is me, at 17 months old, taken in the front garden of my Grandparent's home in Wanganui, NZ. I love this photo, for so many different reasons. Don't I just look so happy and mischievous !!! :-)
My daughter Christina at 5 years old. I can see the same glint in her eyes as I see in my own. She also is an incredibly strong woman and a mother of four wonderful children. Once the youngest starts school this year, she's hoping to go back to school herself and get her Midwifery degree. I am extremely proud of her.
Then there is Sacha, my Granddaughter. She's about to turn 12 and on the verge of those teenage years and young womanhood. I'm looking forward to the excitement of seeing her grow into a woman who will be, in her own way, just as strong as that line of women that came before her...
Does anybody else also get that chill (in a nice sense) when you look behind you and see the generations of women that have helped make you who you are today ? Then you look in front of you and see the beginnings of the generations that will stretch ahead and know that you, along with those behind, will play your part in forming who they will be.
Awesome, isn't it? :-)
