Naleighna Kai's Literary Cafe Magazine NK Literary Cafe 2018 Mother's Day Issue | Page 25

Naleighna Kai
Almost as if I’m waiting for her to come home
from one of her fabulous trips, I have her passport,
unwilling to let it go because the photo is one of
her best. She traveled. Lord, did she travel. What’s
more, she had a polish and a standard way of doing
things that has spilled into my life. The best dishes are
always used for myself and not just for guests. Having
a housekeeper is not a sign of failure, it is almost a
necessity for working women.
No matter what I was going through in my life,
she provided wisdom and non-judgmental support.
That was priceless. I’ve done a many great and
splendid things in my time, but there are also several
experiences that I’m not telling nobody but God.
From the point of owning homes, cars, establishing
good credit (messing it up some, and then recovering
again), there’s one thing that I did that made me feel
like a grown-up. The moment I sat across from a
lawyer and drafted my Will, Trust, Power of Attorney
for Healthcare, Power of Attorney for Property, and
my Deed in Trust.
Can this May-December romance
survive her tragic past, his traditional
family, and a world that would rather
see them dead than in love?
That’s some grown folks stuff right there. Because
so many people leave others to pick up the pieces of
their lives when they die. That’s when grief and guilt
override common sense and people lose their natural
minds. I never wanted that for my son, or any of my
family members. This is the one thing I learned that
differed from what I experienced when my mother
passed away. Then, there was so much chaos that
we almost didn’t get her buried (read my novel The
Pleasure’s All Mine to see how that all turned out).
Dearest knew how to handle her business on
all levels. That, and her desire to travel, have new
experiences, and be a non-wavering support for her
family are the best legacies she could leave. I want to
be just like her now that I’m a grown up.
NKLC Magazine | 25