wisdom abounds

every once in awhile i'm reminded that i'm living with a woman that is almost 70.

the shower door is a delicate balance of three fogged glass panes that glide on a small ledge. Mama Shumi refers to these hanging door pieces as her babies, so that i'll remember to always slide them with care. so after the 20 seconds of gently gliding each individual piece of glass i've finally earned my shower. once in the shower, i look to my right and notice that on the little soap dish rests the lower dentures of Mama Shumi. like i said, every once in awhile i'm reminded that i'm living with a woman that is almost 70.

but i can also see it in the wisdom that Mama has to impart. last night the two of us sat in the living room area, i was eating my dinner, and Mama was cutting the webbing out of the chicken feet. (i guess here is where you realize that people can get used to almost anything.) Mama started to tell me a little bit about her past. she was part of "the struggle", which means that when this country was battling over apartheid she was out marching. she actually spent a year in prison - and gave birth to her first born son while in prison. she became a business woman in 1985 when her sister told her about how much school children in her area enjoy a good chicken foot. :)

i am always amazed by all that people have to teach - and i rarely forget how much i have to learn.