Guajira

4/24/2011

I was sitting for a spell with my Nana-in-law and began to think back about my own Abuela.

I listened to Nana talking about her garden…

“Uncle made a garden every year in my yard and it got bigger every year.”  

…and about food.

“You used to get the chickens fresh.  Sure they would kill them but you had to pluck them yourself.”  

It’s Easter Sunday 2011 and as my wife works on the blueberry glaze for her blueberry cobbler, I think about all the people who no longer have the ability to make their own meals.  Sure, most can cook, but what I f Publix were closed for a while?  What would we do?  An incredible bank of wisdom is still just a Grandparent away and yet as each grandma passes on, the new grandma’s know less and less about life, and more about TV Shows and Facebook. 

Abuela was no stranger to life.  She taught me many things, but she also took many lessons to the grave.  Born and raised on a tobacco plantation in Cuba, she and her 13 siblings had skills.  Gardening, Sewing, Cooking, Building, Livestock, and anything else it took to survive and thrive as a family.  The term Guajira is somewhat analogous to redneck.  I remember her being so self conscious about being thought a Guajira from Pinar Del Rio (the region in Cuba where the plantation was and the house still stands).  She made every effort to hide the old ways and I made every effort to learn.  In the Garden she shared (since a man should know these things) but it the kitchen and at the sewing machine her secrets were kept behind the veil of “one day I’ll teach your wife.”  Unfortunately, her secrets were kept since by the time I married, she was either unwilling or unable to share. 

My wife and I are working hard to make sure we learn and teach as many of these skills as we can to our children (and anyone else willing to read or listen).  Erika has an amazing skill set herself and I can’t help but think Abuela looks down from time to time and smiles at the latest cake, dress, or project (or wrinkles her nose like your project is not only done wrong, but somehow, you also gave it a foul smell …she wasn’t shy, and she was brutally honest J!) 

It only took two generations to forget some of these life skills.  With the assistance of technology, I believe it will take less time to not only learn the skills, but learn them using more efficient and sustainable methods.  Using the principles of yesterday and the tools of today, we CAN make a better tomorrow for our children and our grandchildren.