Planting Seeds of Legacy at Big Mama's House

Five years ago, I did something I never thought I would, I bought my great grandmother's home.

At the time, I was eager to reclaim and restore her legacy and begin creating my own through her home. Somewhere between dreams and detours, the house just stood and then it was demolished. The house came tumbling down and along with it all of my hopes and dreams of walking through the same halls that she once did, my grandfather had, and even my younger self. For years, I looked at it with a heavy heart, feeling like I had failed myself, Big Mama, and those who supported me. I thought that by now I would have rebuilt it into a beautiful and welcoming family home or community gathering place that it once was. Life had other plans.

But, something recently shifted.

I realized that honoring her legacy doesn't have to mean adhering to construction deadlines or chasing the perfect timeline. It can begin at anytime with something small. Something sacred. Something that lives and breathes vitality. Something that grows into itself.

So, I will continue with a garden.

My great grandmother was an entrepreneur, real estate investor, schoolteacher, and an exceptional gardener. She had hands that knew how to bring life to soil and create with nature. I'd like to think those hands passed something down to me- a spiritual inheritance- just as the house was.

What I hold in my hand and hearts are- seeds and deeds. As spring is at its peak and summer arrives, I'm planting new life in the soil she once sowed seeds and anchoring a new foundation into the land and home she once called home.

Using what I grow and yield from the offerings of the garden to sow back into the same land to rebuild the estate of Eunice Alma Harris Malone is the new vision five years later.

This season, the garden will be a place to honor my great grandmother. A place to connect with her in spirit to listen and learn. I'll plant all of the vegetables she would have planted and loved. I'm not just growing food and herbs though. I want to deeply root myself in legacy.

This land, the home that once was, and the porch that remains holds memory. Even though, the house itself still waits to be rebuilt, the soil is ready. And so am I.

This estate will be my home and my garden. It is the story of redemption, stewardship, love, and legacy. It is my deep honor to use my hands to tend to it just as Big Mama did. In building both a sacred home and garden, I hope to embark on a quest of self discovery that allows me to create my own philosophy of life- slow living and intentional stewardship.

I invite you to follow along on this journey of growing, restoring, and honoring. Of learning to take small steps. Of watching seeds become something more.

Spring is here, and so is a new beginning.