Meet the woman who raised me. The woman who taught me the meaning of both sacrifice and unconditional love. The woman who was the rock that kept our family grounded and the glue that kept it together. The woman who was known to all, as Bigmama, but who was known to me, simply as mama. Meet my great-grandmother, Exie Bea.

She was an amazing woman, fearless... a pillar of strength and unconditional love. She gave to those who were in need and mothered those who didn't have. She taught me some of life's most valuable lessons. How to master self sacrifice in the name of love, to show bravery in times of fear, and the most valuable of all, to never sit idly by wait for a man or anyone else to take care of you. "You have to know how to do for self cuz I wont always be with you", she'd say.

She died October 23rd, 2005. At a time when the country was trying to wrap their heads around the tragedy that was Katrina, I was trying to wrap my head around the fact that I had just became motherless all over again. Witnessing the destruction of lung cancer was a traumatic experience for me. I just couldn't believe that a woman who was once so strong was suddenly disappearing before my eyes. Her body was there, but her mind was absent at times. And then went her soul. I thought I would never recover... but I did.

Now, I keep her life and everything that she taught me, tucked away tightly in my heart and in my memory. I take the time to remember her today, I'll remember her always.