Dear Annette: A Love Letter to an Unforgettable Woman
A popular prompt for Women’s History Month is letter writing to an inspirational woman. Below is a letter written to my grandmother.
As I write this to you, my mind returns to childhood. The best mornings began with mud pies baked under the Louisiana sun and evenings were spent pulling honeysuckle from trees. There were other days I wish I could forget. But there’s one day and one conversation with you that I most remember.
We sat outside in secondhand lawn chairs beaten by the rain. The sun was merciful as you shared dreams of becoming a country music singer and owning a soul food restaurant. You told me your dreams slipped between your fingers — the worn fingers of a divorcee who was once a young mother. When I saw the pain in your face, I finally understood a look I’d seen so many times. Throughout my adolescent years, I’d misread your expressions. You were never looking at me with disapproval. You were seeing me before I could clearly see myself.
You were more than Grandma. You were Annette.
This was the same day that you and my mother went out for weekly thrifting and garage sale runs, bringing me stacks of fiction books, usually priced at $2.oo or less.
