Renaissance Mother, Bastet.

I give thanks to all of the women roaming this earth who wear the title “mom.” Women like me would not exist without them. The Renaissance Era was a time of Rebirth. We often speak of “HIStory”, but what about HER story? We typically associate men with the Renaissance Era & women were never considered. For that reason, we hardly show recognition to the women who are art, culture & full of life. I know a renaissance woman personally; my mother - an artist, birth giver & more. She endured a great rebirth when she birthed me & because of her, I am growing into a Renaissance woman for my future seeds. Our story began the moment I was pressed against my Mother’s chest in 1994. I had no idea what the next twenty-six years would consist of, but I am more than grateful for the guidance of a Renaissance woman I call “mommy”.

Our most life challenging experiences occurred during our time living in Alabama. When my mother chose to move from Florida to the most rural environment any of us had ever experienced. This was a period that tested faith & strength. It all allows me to share HER story. These tests allowed me to see a different side to my mother & myself. Because my siblings & I had a Renaissance woman to depend on during these times, my siblings & I are able to now walk, speak, breathe & rest in our truth. From being without a car for a long period of time, having to wash our clothes in a bath tub, running low on money & wondering “how?” with nine mouths to feed & more, my mother always seemed to figure it out for us all. These were the times that made me come face to face with resilience. If I never knew what it meant to be resilient, I do now & it is because of her; making us aware of the importance of love, family & sticking together no matter what! My mother could have easily let all eight of us go, but she always stood firm on not taking the easy route. Truth is, she needed us just like we needed her. As she was watching us grow, we were watching her grow, too.

Within twenty-six years I have witnessed my mother grow through many life changing experiences. She never had to say much. As a water sign, she flowed like water and as an air sign, I flowed with her. I always knew. I always felt more than I spoke on. The beauty of our silent struggles allowed me to observe more, develop a sense of awareness & strengthen my intuition at a young age. My intuition is similar to my Mother’s, equivalent to Bastet - the Egyptian goddess of the home, domesticity, women's secrets, cats, fertility, and childbirth. She protected the home from evil spirits and disease, especially diseases associated with women and children. I am thankful for my own Bastet. Some days it is still hard to fathom the fact that my mother gave birth to eight children naturally. Truth is, she did it and with no shame. Being the oldest sibling of seven other children was not always the easiest task, so I know as a mother it was nowhere near easy. Recognizing her strength & bravery through the most challenging moments within our household pushed me to my highest degree of potential to be & do more than what we had to settle for at times. No matter how hard it was for the time being, I realized I had little people watching me & that alone gave me a different kind of motivation to want to evolve for myself first & then them. This allowed me to channel my “motherly instincts” & become a warrior in the process.

Today, because of the Renaissance woman I call mom, I am here as a twenty-six-year-old Alchemist; grand-daughter, daughter, niece, sister, aunt, business owner, wholistic healer in various forms, Kemetic Reiki Practitioner, herbal pharmacist, humanitarian, youtuber, teacher, student, painter, world traveler, rapper, blogger, author, event planner, photographer & creator of much more because of her. The choice is always ours & the truth is, our choices do affect others. Thank you, mommy for choosing selflessness for us. She sure taught me how to be unselfish because of her sacrifices. Though our journey around the sun for twenty-six years was nowhere near perfect, it was surely worth it. It has taught me a lot; how to listen more than I speak, protect those I love, resilience & knowing that “all is well” always, even when it is most uncomfortable. The love she gives her children is tough, but necessary. I celebrate my mother, as she should celebrate herself for birthing a warrior out of many warriors.

It was a divine creation for me to be birthed into this world before my younger siblings; to be a light. To be a leader. To be love. I would not be the person I am had it not been for a her. She inspires me, motivates me, she is someone who I look up to, I have learned lessons of much valuable from & more! The impact my mother has had in my life has stuck with me in more ways than one & she continues to inspire me to be strong on a daily. I love you; my Bastet!