My vacation is nearing its end now and I realized I never shared a significant important fact which is that I am Jamaican. My family takes a yearly trip to the Caribbean, but this the first time since I was 15 (eight years ago) that I have been back to Jamaica.
My mother was born and raised in Mandeville, Jamaica. She immigrated to the United States when she was 17 years old. One thing you can always tell about her is that Jamaica never left her. It has been over 30 years since she left, but the Jamaican spirit stills runs deep.
My mother and the little family that we do have made sure that Jamaica also ran deep in me, my sister, and my cousins. Family stories, secrets, and sometimes tragedies kept the island alive in all of us. I’ve never lived here, but the connection will never go away.
For the majority of the week my family relaxed, but yesterday we did something very special. We were joined by one of my aunts and ventured out to Westmoreland which is the parish my grandfather grew up in. We lost my grandfather in April of 2005 (the last time I was here).
I cannot say I knew my grandfather Keith well. He lived in Jamaica so I only saw him a handful of times in my life. From the stories I have heard and the time I did get to spend with him I could see he was a kind man with a gentle soul. He left a huge void when he passed away eight years ago, but my family continues to keep his memory alive.
We went to his childhood church St. Barnabas to visit his grave. I had been there for the funeral, but as you can imagine at the time I was not thinking about the great meaning of the location. My family owns the plot, so in addition to my grandfather being buried there many of my ancestors are buried there as well. While it was somber, it was also moving.
After we spent some time there we headed back to the resort. We relaxed with my aunt by the pool and then headed out to dinner as a family. Check out my looks from dinner last night below.
This is going to be my last post of my Island Style Diaries. I have one more night, but I think this a good note to leave it on. Thank you to all the readers who followed my style journey this past week! I hope you all enjoyed it and I gave you some inspiration! Enjoy your weekend fashionistas!
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