Come Walk with Me…
IN LOVING MEMORY OF BARBARA HORNE
I come from a family line of walking women. My mom and her mother were both serious walkers, so my love for walking came naturally. Walking is my therapy, and I truly believe my grandmother knew that I would need therapy before I could afford it and so we walked and talked. For as long as I can remember whenever I found myself in a place where I was stuck, confused, hurt, or whatever else pulled me out of balance; I would walk.
My walks with my grandmother (granny to me) began in my preteen years. Sidenote my granny had ten (10) children and more than double that number of grandchildren at that time. So having quality one on one time with my granny was a challenging task within itself. Okay, back to the walks, it started out pretty simple, my granny would catch the bus to work most mornings and that meant leaving the house often before daylight, I’m talking as early as 0430. One morning I just so happened to be up and since we lived directly across the street from my granny, I decided to walk with her to the bus stop which was about a 15min walk. Of course, granny resisted at first but knowing she was just wasting her breath trying to stop me she finally conceded.
Our initial walk turned into a morning ritual for that entire summer, once school started, I walked with her on the weekends. Those walks were priceless and the conversations we shared ranged from deep intimate to hysterically comical, my granny was a funny lady and I believe of the many things I inherited from granny one of those things was her sense of humor. I remember during one of our discussions how granny talked about walking on the beach, she was a mermaid and I inherited that trait also. During one of our walk and talks I mentioned that my goal was to walk on beaches all around the world and she just smiled and replied:
“I know you will Dottie.”
My granny imparted so much wisdom into me during our walks and regardless of what I may have been going through in life; walking with my granny always seemed to make me feel/know that it was going to be okay. Our walks evolved into me riding the bus with granny, and finally driving granny to work. There are simply no words to fully express the gratitude which I continue to feel for having that sacred time with my granny. I am now a “Nana” sharing the wisdom of Barbara Horne with my grandchildren. I also share pictures so that they can have a visual of the amazing woman that I call granny.
My granny would be happy to know that I have actually walked on many beaches around the world including some that she walked on as well. My top three beaches are Aruba, Bahamas, and Cancun, because my granny walked those beaches before me. Even though it’s been decades since I have physically walked with my granny, she is with me every single time I take a walk. I can still recall the sound my granny’s voice saying, “Hey Dottie, come walk with me”
~OneLove Diane
“Between the earth and the sky above, nothing can match a grandmother’s love.” ~Unknown