The Ties That Bind
This happy snap from 1947 of (L - R) my mum Jackie, my nanna Nancy and my Auntie Barbie
Today would have been my Nanna's 106th birthday. This ultra Aries woman was my first Bohemian role model and I can still see her cheeky wink and knowing smile. She lived well beyond the dictates of the time, raising her two girls in The Australian Hotel - one of our oldest pubs in The Rocks in Sydney - as a solo mum in the 1940's. It is her blood that leaps in my veins every time I defy convention or stand my ground.
She was a writer like her grandfather before her and I was often told, as a bookish child with a pen rarely out of her hand, that I carried this every second generation gift. It felt a blessing even then. I feel her standing behind me every time I work on my book and hear her voice constantly in my head telling me to just finish it, kiddo.
The stories of her heyday are legendary, as she twirled through high society, marriages and piano solos, scandals and intrigue with her keen eye and sharp pen capturing it all. As a journalist and court reporter she met my grandfather, a dashing young lawyer about town and the rest is history. Herstory. My story.
This photo was taken in 1947 of my Nanna cradling my Mum as a baby and my Auntie Barbie. These strong women are my stock. It will always blow my mind that I am in this photo too, a miniscule egg tucked away and cradled already next to my brothers, with a decades long wait ahead as my Mum grew into the woman who would fall in love with and marry my father before they produced we three. Each of us - all of us - have so much tucked away inside, potential and passions that are borne of us and grow beyond our keeping.
As our world is twisting and shifting, all of our ancestors have stepped in closer and are making their knowing presence felt in our waking moments, their guiding hands in our lives. It has long been prophesised that this mad world would be saved, balmed and guided by a council of grandmothers. We were foolish to think they needed to be mortal to be alive to the task at hand.
The shoulders we each stand upon are heaving. Somedays knocking us off balance and forcing us to find a new way to rise tall upon them. Other days with arms outstretched and wisdom whispered to us through dreams, memory and vision.
So today, in honour of my Nancy, let us all remember those who came before us, without whom we would not be here. I would love to hear your favourite story of your grandmother too, darkling. Let's call them by name. Raise them up, rouse them from their slumber and ally ourselves to their great legacy, the purpose of our lives.
Be still, they say. Watch and listen. You are the result of the love of thousands.
~ Linda Hogan
Words c. Kerrie Basha 2019