Gathering From What My Grandmothers Sowed

Video (8:51 min) capturing mother and daughter collecting and sorting through fruits and engaging in gentle interactions.

In my grandmother's garden, apple trees bear fruit once every two years. This cyclical nature reminds me of how my experiences and the passage of time have transformed my view of my mothers—my grandmothers and great-grandmothers. In my adolescence, I often judged certain traits, fears, and behaviors they exhibited. As time flows, I live similar experiences, and instead of judging, I find understanding.

This closeness brings me to silence and peace. I think of apples as gifts—symbols of warmth, closeness, love, anxiety, fear, and bravery that my grandmothers sowed, and I now harvest them periodically.