87 Years of Wisdom: A Legacy Conversation with Granny | Ep. 100

Episode 100 is a celebration, but it’s also something more permanent: a legacy conversation with my granny, Adassa Brown, recorded on her 87th birthday trip to Hawaii while a massive storm rolls in outside our window. Between laughter, tenderness, and a few hard truths, we slow down long enough to capture the kind of family history most of us mean to record “someday” and then never do.

We talk about her childhood in Jamaica, what it meant to grow up with less, and how a rough upbringing shaped her shyness and strength. She remembers the people who raised her in all the quiet ways that matter, from her grandmother to cousins and friends whose names still live in her memory. We also get into her dreams of becoming a teacher and an agriculturist, her love of gardening, and the pride that comes from building a life through education, work, and community.

Then the conversation turns toward the wisdom only time can sharpen: how to tell who’s sincere, what love teaches when it doesn’t last, and why honesty and being true to yourself is non-negotiable. She shares what keeps her grounded through hard seasons, including prayer, silence, reflection, and learning to care for yourself without losing your kindness.

If you’ve been thinking about family legacy, intergenerational healing, telling stories that matter, or simply how to live a meaningful life, this one is for you. Listen, share it with someone you love, and if it moves you, subscribe and leave a review so more people can find this story.

Watch this episode on YouTube!

Checkout my piece on Substack: The Feminine Urge to Create - No One Warned Me About This Kind of Grief: Reflections on time, aging, and loving deeply

Theme Music:
She No Dull Beat by Nana Kwabena
Festivities in Belize by RAGE Productions

Transcript

Hawaii Trip And Birthday Celebration

Aliya Cheyanne 0:35

Hey friend, welcome back to the show and welcome to episode 100. I cannot believe that we're here. And today's episode, I'm celebrating 100 episodes, and you're in for a special episode because it's actually a conversation with my granny. Recently, Granny and I went on a birthday trip to celebrate her 87th birthday, and the trip was beautiful. It started out beautifully. It ended a bit tough though towards the end. It was the beginning of a massive storm in Hawaii where locals in Oahu, Maui, and a few other places were severely impacted with flooding, power outages, and so much more. Still continuing to think of the people there, pray for the people there, support with aid in ways that I can. But it was a beautiful gift. And on one of the very rainy days toward the end of our trip, I asked Granny to join me on the podcast to celebrate 100 episodes and to share more of her life and her story and the messages she wants to leave behind. This is a special episode. This is a legacy episode, and I'm so excited to share it with you. That being said, although this conversation is beautiful and it's a legacy episode, and I'm celebrating a hundred episodes, this is our second to last episode of the season. It's been such a wonderful season with so many incredible guests. I've been so grateful for all of the rich conversations I've had so far. I still have another rich conversation for you after this one, but your girl needs to pause. I have so much appreciation for all of my favorite podcasters who provide content year-round. I am not one of them. I'm a seasonal girly and it's been a beautiful season, but it's time for this season to close out. I'm excited to enjoy spring and summer and to be back with you very soon. To all of the OGs who have been listening to the show since the very beginning, thank you. Even if you fell off and you came back, I'm grateful for you. To everyone who's found the show, discovered the show along the way and stayed. Thank you so much for being here. To all of my new listeners, welcome. I'm grateful for you. Thank you for being here. And to anyone who's popped in and out, maybe this is your first episode that you're listening to, thank you so much for stopping by. This podcast has been such an incredible body of work for me. It's been a wonderful hobby for the last handful of years. I'm so grateful for all of the conversations that I've had that I otherwise would not have had if it were not for this show. I have so much gratitude and love for my sister and my best friend for what we started, and appreciation and gratitude for myself for what I've been able to continue and create and accomplish through this show. And 100 episodes is no small feat. It is a big deal. I'm so proud of myself and this body of work, and I'm so grateful for each and every one of you who have continued to tune in, continue to share the show, continue to send in your texts, your voice notes, write your reviews, leave comments on Spotify and on YouTube. Your support, your engagement, your participation, your feedback, your amplification of the show matters so much, and I'm deeply grateful for you. With that being said, let's jump into our 100th episode, celebrating with my granny. Hi granny, welcome to the podcast. Thank you. Guess what? The first. Yeah, first, yeah. Guess what episode this is gonna be?

Adassa Brown 5:20

What? 50? More. 85? More? 125?

Aliya Cheyanne 5:27

100. This is gonna be my 100th episode. Good. So I get to celebrate it with you.

Adassa Brown 5:35

Mm-hmm. It's good to celebrate it with my birthday.

Aliya Cheyanne 5:39

Yeah, we're on your birthday trip in Hawaii in Maui. How does it feel to have turned 87?

Adassa Brown 5:47

It feels good. And this birthday is the best. Is it? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Have the captain hugging and singing to me, the crew singing to me. True. True. Everybody coming and, you know, wishing me a happy birthday and hugging and Yeah.

Aliya Cheyanne 6:08

Because for your actual birthday, we did a sunset cruise. We went well watching. And one of the ladies on the cruise just was very happy. And she went and told the captain it was your birthday because I kept blabbering to everybody that it was your birthday. So he made a special little speech, and then everybody sang happy birthday. That was nice, right? Mm-hmm. And you usually don't like that. Did you see my head? I had my head down like this because I was kind of embarrassed. But it's nice to be celebrated.

Adassa Brown 6:41

Great.

Aliya Cheyanne 6:42

So this is not your first time to Hawaii, right?

Adassa Brown 6:45

My second.

Aliya Cheyanne 6:46

What was your first time like?

Adassa Brown 6:48

My f my well, my first time was with Wrestling. He didn't want to do anything. So, you know, we went to the beach, eat, walk around. Gene and yeah. Gene and Emily. Who you know they've passed a while ago.

Aliya Cheyanne 7:08

They were your friends?

Adassa Brown 7:09

Mm-hmm. My good friends.

Aliya Cheyanne 7:11

It's nice to do a trip with friends, right? Mm-hmm. And now you come back with your grumpy granddaughter.

Adassa Brown 7:19

No, you're not. Well and I appreciate, you know, everything.

Aliya Cheyanne 7:24

Yeah.

Adassa Brown 7:24

What you do?

Aliya Cheyanne 7:26

We do it together. So the trip started out lovely. We had beautiful weather. We had a perfect day for your birthday. And then now it's been a little stormy. Mm-hmm. So haven't been able to do as much exploring. San Diego was good too. We didn't do much. We stopped in San Diego to break up the long flight from New York to Hawaii.

Adassa Brown 7:49

Flights were good.

Growing Up Poor In Jamaica

Aliya Cheyanne 7:51

San Diego was nice. We did a little exploring there, not too much, but we saw a little something. We ate good food. So that was nice. And we will stop there on the way back. Okay, Granny. So this episode is all about you and your life. It's a legacy episode. So I want to hear a little bit more of your story than what you usually tell me. Like you usually tell me about growing up in Jamaica and what it was like coming to the States and little things, but we'll talk a little bit more about who you were as a little girl, who you matured into as a woman, and the wisdom that you've gained now. We'll talk a little bit more about what you want your kids and your grandkids and your great-grandkids to know. And it'll be on the podcast forever. So no matter what, we'll always have our this little video and we'll always have your voice and my voice and this conversation. So I have a bunch of questions.

Adassa Brown 9:14

Shy. Very quiet and in a little insecure. Oh, why? Because my my father was rough.

Aliya Cheyanne 9:22

Yeah.

Adassa Brown 9:23

Very.

Aliya Cheyanne 9:24

Oh boy. I might get my little shyness and my little insecurity from you then.

Adassa Brown 9:30

And you know, we were poor. We were pretty poor growing up.

Aliya Cheyanne 9:34

Where did you grow up?

Adassa Brown 9:36

In Rich Richmond Park. Where? In Jamaica. Okay. Clarendon.

Aliya Cheyanne 9:42

Yeah. Humble beginnings, but you built a beautiful life. We'll talk more later about you. You and grandpa's a visionary.

Adassa Brown 9:53

Grandpa was a real visionary. He just believed in saving, investing.

Aliya Cheyanne 10:01

And it was smart. Look at you now. You're here in Hawaii, right? Mm-hmm. Okay. So you mentioned that your dad was very rough. And I see that even those memories still bring up some emotion. So I hope you know you didn't deserve any roughness when you were growing up. And you still turned out to be a sweet granny. So aside from your dad, who were the people that shaped you the most when you were growing up? Well you talked about your grandmother before, right? Yeah. My cousin Cleveland.

Adassa Brown 10:43

He was pretty pretty good. The McLaughlins, the Scots were re you know, the McLaughlins, the Scots were relatives. So we like, you know, move around a lot and stuff.

Aliya Cheyanne 11:01

Who else?

Adassa Brown 11:02

My best friends, Edith and Edith McClain and Rose Francis. Yeah. And my grandma, my my grandmother, she was my favorite.

Aliya Cheyanne 11:19

Yeah.

Adassa Brown 11:21

Loved her.

Aliya Cheyanne 11:21

Don't worry, you're my favorite too. You're passing it on. Well, they say it's very important to like remembers remember people's names and say their names, so it's good that you can recall those people. Wherever you know, wherever they are now, whether they've transitioned or, you know, just families in different parts of the world or whatever, you still have those memories, so that's a good thing. What did your parents or elders teach you about life that stayed with you?

Adassa Brown 11:55

They they worked, they didn't really have time to teach you anything about life?

Dreams Of Teaching And Gardening

Aliya Cheyanne 12:01

No. Okay. What were some of your dreams when you were young? What did you want to do when you got older?

Adassa Brown 12:10

To be a teacher.

Aliya Cheyanne 12:11

Which you were, right?

Adassa Brown 12:13

And an agriculturist because I love plants and flowers and and stuff. And I had this this one thing as a child. I had a garden. I grew cabbages and I got a uh won a prize for that. Wow. Were in school? It was a competition. Yeah. Okay.

Aliya Cheyanne 12:41

Okay. Well, you're still an agriculturist in your own way. You have a beautiful garden at home now, which is nice when the weather's nice. I don't really like to work in the garden, but I don't mind enjoying the garden. And Stormy Girl gets to enjoy the garden. And you get to enjoy the garden when you're when you sit down and relax and you're not toiling in the soil every two seconds.

Adassa Brown 13:08

I love the toilet sort.

Aliya Cheyanne 13:10

Well, sometimes you're supposed to just sit down and relax and enjoy the garden. Yeah, every every day is not work in the garden. Sometimes you just sit and enjoy the garden. So you're still an agriculturist in your own way. Very much. What were some of the happiest seasons of your life?

Adassa Brown 13:31

Well, going up with all the other kids. Playing, going on little trips, school trips and stuff.

Aliya Cheyanne 13:45

Grandma, you just turned 87. The happiest seasons of your life were school trips when you were a kid? Yeah, school trips.

Adassa Brown 13:52

Oh no. You know, socializing with friends and relatives and school days. Traveling. Traveling. Visiting relatives, you know, my uncles and aunts. That was that was good.

Aliya Cheyanne 14:20

I can relate to that a little bit. Not blood, not blood relatives, but some of my happier memories were like younger when like my whole family was here in New York and we had like a lot of family friends. I can understand that a little bit. So looking back on your life, your whole life, not just when you were a kid, looking back over your whole life. What are some moments or decisions that changed the course of your life the most? I don't know. Come into America? Yeah, I guess. Getting married, having kids. Yeah. That was part of it. What were some of your proudest accomplishments that people might not know about? I guess college. Caledonia Junior College.

Adassa Brown 15:26

And you know, going different places and teaching, meeting different people. Rosewell.

Aliya Cheyanne 15:36

What about your garden club?

Love Lessons And Trust Over Time

Adassa Brown 15:38

Yeah, that was I started that with like three of us. Ended up with about ten. We used to travel, you know, different places upstate and do luncheons and that used to be so much fun. I would take the whole group and we go have lunch. Eat shop. That was fun. That was actually gardens at the center. I did a co garden for the seniors at the center. That was that was good. The seniors loved it. The kids when they go by they loved it. So that was good. That was one of my happiest times. Just getting on the vehicle and just going upstairs all over. Basically. I used to love to hang out with my dad.

Aliya Cheyanne 16:34

What did you like most about hanging out with your dad? He talked and he'd show me things and This is the same dad you said was rough?

Adassa Brown 16:46

Mm-hmm. He was rough, but he did love me a lot.

Aliya Cheyanne 16:48

So what is he Juckal Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? Little bit? Yeah, lit little. So you did have adults that that showed you things and taught you things. I asked you that you act like you don't know. He did. What did love and relationships teach you over the year?

Adassa Brown 17:10

Yeah, you know, I had boyfriends who once I found out who they were, I just, you know, got out of it. That you have to know who to trust. And that love is not everlasting. You know, you know, the people you love and crazy about might not be crazy about you. They might be, you know, not sincere. Some are sincere and some are not.

Aliya Cheyanne 17:37

What's your favorite memory with grandpa? Or one of your favorite memories with or of grandpa? You guys used to travel a lot and entertain and go to dances and stuff, right? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So what was what are what's your favorite memory or one of your favorite memories? There's a lot.

Adassa Brown 17:57

We used to go to oh, when they had the club, we used to go to lunch luncheons and stuff with uh club ninety-four.

Aliya Cheyanne 18:07

Mm-hmm.

Adassa Brown 18:07

That used to be fun. Because we had old friends that we hung out with. Most of them were either sick or calm. But we used to have good times dancing and chatting and you know, that used to be fun too, until Club 94 went out of went out of business or whatever. Just two just two special friends. We used to go to the park and hang out, take, you know, picnic baskets and take the kids. The kids were small. So we'd go to the park, we'd hang out for the day, they would ride on the things and whatever.

Aliya Cheyanne 18:53

Okay. Well, that's nice. I didn't hear about that before.

Adassa Brown 18:57

Yeah, Maureen was my good friend. Maureen and Birchill. Me and Marie Maureen used to hang out a lot. She would tell me everything that, you know that went on in her life, so I I knew people, you know, what some men could do and whatever.

Aliya Cheyanne 19:17

But me and her we used to have a good time. That's nice. What are some lessons about life that took you many years to learn?

Adassa Brown 19:29

You've got to be honest. You've got to be true to yourself. What you give, you get back, you treat people good, love them, treat them well. Came back to you. You you enjoy it later on. And I see every everything that I I have done helped to make me who I am right now.

Aliya Cheyanne 19:49

You're gonna cry? It's okay. Yeah, they were memories. Everything's okay. It's alright. If there's something you could tell your younger self at any age, or any advice you would give your younger self at any age, what would it be? Have more fun. Be more open, not so shy. Have more fun, be more open, not so shy. What else?

Adassa Brown 20:25

I don't know. Laugh more, live more, you know, do more. I don't know if I could do more because I've traveled so much.

Aliya Cheyanne 20:35

Yeah, you have.

Adassa Brown 20:36

All over the place. London twice, Hawaii twice, Costa Rica?

Aliya Cheyanne 20:45

Costa Rica, where else you've been to? All the places you and Grandpa traveled to when you guys were younger.

Adassa Brown 20:50

What most of the time it was like me alone, really. Okay, so where were you going? He wasn't that much of a what other places you've been to more than those places. Where else? I can't even think of some of the other places. That's why I have soup Costa Rica. I've been to Costa Rica too. I've been to well, through Mexico. We didn't stay there any long time.

Aliya Cheyanne 21:22

You've been to Alaska?

Adassa Brown 21:24

Yeah, Alaska, St. Martin, St. Thomas, where else? Can't think of anything else. That's why I have souvenirs, so I can look at the souvenirs I can remember.

Aliya Cheyanne 21:37

Mm-hmm. There's a quote, I'm gonna butcher it now, but it's from a show that I liked called The The Godfather of Harlem, and one of the characters was a little girl, and she was talking about how basically she wants to travel as many places as she can so that you know the earth will remember her footsteps. Something like that. You know, it's nice to look at maps, like that's a cool thing to do, but when you go there, you get to like leave your imprint and your marks on the world and tread those surfaces. So it's very cool that you've been to that many places. I think I get my spirit for travel from you. San Diego twice. I think maybe that's partially where I get my even though I'm still young, but I'm kind of I'm kinda tired of travel now. I just want to stay home with Storm. So I don't know.

Adassa Brown 23:11

We'll see what the future holds. Yeah, I'll do that too. Just you know, be places where we can take storm.

Aliya Cheyanne 23:19

What do you think people today sometimes misunderstand about life, love, and happiness? You've seen a lot of things. It's a different generation now. So what do you think that we don't understand or what we misunderstand about life, love, and happiness?

Adassa Brown 23:35

Yeah, sometimes you love people, but then you realize that they're not really genuine. Or people come in your life and they go. They come to learn from you, they come to teach you things. So, you know, it's some movement for your life. You meet thousands of people, teachers, nurses, doctors, lawyers, boyfriends.

Aliya Cheyanne 24:07

What do you think we misunderstand about happiness in this era?

Adassa Brown 24:12

Yeah, young people think happiness is just about sex, but it's not. It's you know, I don't think everybody thinks that, Granny. Some people. But you meet people you love, you enjoy your life with them, and you they move on or you move on.

Aliya Cheyanne 24:31

What does a meaningful life look like to you?

Adassa Brown 24:33

Well enjoying your life, helping other people whenever you can. But that's more more important than anything else. Just help somebody else along the way. Not just to think about yourself, what you have, what you can do.

Aliya Cheyanne 24:55

That's true, you know. Our society is has become very individualistic. Everybody's looking out for themselves, all the people aren't looking out for each other anymore. So what has helped you to stay strong during difficult times?

Adassa Brown 25:13

Well, prayer, God, silence. Sometimes you need that silence to think retrospective. If there's things you you did that you're sorry about, you know you're not gonna do that, carry that forward. You're gonna change your life. Think about yourself more than just doing for others, giving to others and ignoring yourself. That's not good done. You gotta think of yourself too.

Aliya Cheyanne 25:46

Wasn't that your motto for 2025? Yeah, but this is a year about move.

Adassa Brown 25:52

Yeah, well, 2026.

Family Legacy And Staying Connected

Aliya Cheyanne 25:55

I think you said it so much because you're trying to convince yourself. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Oh Lord. Yeah, yeah. Alright, Granny, let's talk a little bit more about family and legacy. What has being a mother and grandmother and great grandmother meant to you?

Adassa Brown 26:17

Family is important. And family's like so distant. It just they just think about themselves. They don't care about anybody else. Just them, what they can get, what you can do for them. Most of them anyway. Not talk about you and Milton or grandkids, great grandkids.

Aliya Cheyanne 26:44

Everybody contributes to that dynamic.

Adassa Brown 26:46

Yeah, about this sister.

Aliya Cheyanne 26:49

I think people invest where they feel invested in, and vice versa. So you can't have the expectation for anybody to do more reaching out or caring than yeah. You know, it goes always. But you've had kids, you have a lot of grandkids, you have a lot of great-grandkids. When you look at your kids and your grandkids and your great-grandkids, what makes you feel the most proud?

Adassa Brown 27:22

I'm proud because they're growing up well. They're all trying to make a life or get educated and stuff. Mm-hmm. So I'm proud of them.

Aliya Cheyanne 27:37

What traditions or values do you hope our family continues? Or if we don't have them, what traditions or values do you hope we start to implement?

Adassa Brown 27:51

In you know, get closer together, get to know one another, get to, you know, close relationships. Reach out to one another.

Aliya Cheyanne 28:01

Well, some people were raised that way.

Adassa Brown 28:04

Some people did grow up together. Some people didn't. Me and my brothers and sisters, we we never grew up together. We were all over the place.

Aliya Cheyanne 28:15

I feel that way a little bit too with me and my sisters. But I'm grateful for my relationships with them despite the fact that we didn't necessarily grow up together.

Adassa Brown 28:27

Well, so that's all you can do. Try. Reach out to them, even if, you know, even if they don't.

Aliya Cheyanne 28:34

Mm-hmm. What do you want future generations of our family to remember about where they came from?

Adassa Brown 28:41

No matter how poor you are, you can build yourself up, you can improve yourself and be better than the previous generation.

Aliya Cheyanne 28:49

Yeah, we can do our best. Not not the same journey for everybody and every family, but we can strive strive to be better.

Adassa Brown 29:00

Strive to grow closer.

Aliya Cheyanne 29:04

So there's a concept that I really like. It's called Afrofuturism. And it's basically the concept that as we exist now, so does the past, so does the future. So we're recording this podcast right now, but maybe a year, 10 year, 20 years, 50 years from now, somebody in our family or anyone anywhere else might listen to this episode and it might feel like they're right here in the room with us.

Adassa Brown 29:39

Learn from it.

Aliya Cheyanne 29:41

And that's the concept, right? We can in our mind's eye time travel a bit. We can be present with the person who's listening 50 years from now. Um, in the way that we exist now, where someone maybe 50 years ago might have dreamed for this, right? So if our family was listening to this in the next twenty five to fifty years, what would you want them to know?

Adassa Brown 30:14

Parents to know that they should, you know, bring bring the kids up to know their relatives, their relationships and and for them to, you know, get together more.

Aliya Cheyanne 30:30

For parents to teach the children to, you know, accept the older Is that something you regret or that you feel like you didn't do enough of? Well, maybe I didn't do enough of. And if you could you wish you would have more. Mm-hmm. Much more.

Adassa Brown 30:52

Much more. A little more love between brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers and uncles and everything.

Aliya Cheyanne 31:03

That makes sense. Well, you know, some people believe the philosophy that before we're born into the earth our souls kind of pick who our families and our parents are and stuff. Some people don't believe that, but some people do. So I don't know. I don't know. There's a part of you and a part of me and a part of every kid and grandkid and great-grandkid and aunt and uncle, niece, nephew, parent, whatever, who who picked the family. And they either did what they were supposed to do to complete their mission and their purpose here with their family, or they're still working on doing it, or they never got to do it. So all we can do is try to do better. I'm still working on that. Yeah. We all are. And there's also no requirement that you know sometimes you get the family you get. There's this concept called chosen family that a lot of people subscribe to, where you know, maybe you're born into a particular family, but along the way throughout the course of your life, you meet people who are not blood relatives, but they become like your family. So for some people, more than blood relatives, it's chosen family.

Adassa Brown 32:31

Even strangers. Yeah. Sometimes. You know they're close to you, they're they're like they're part of you, they care about you.

Aliya Cheyanne 33:26

Yeah.

Adassa Brown 33:27

Even though they're strangers.

Aliya Cheyanne 33:30

Yeah. What keeps you hopeful or grateful at this stage in your life?

Adassa Brown 33:36

That I'm alive, that I can do stuff for myself. I don't have to really depend on anybody to take care of me.

Aliya Cheyanne 33:45

Except for asking me every day what's for dinner?

Adassa Brown 33:48

Yeah. Taking me around.

Aliya Cheyanne 33:50

Oh Lord.

Adassa Brown 33:51

I'm grateful for most of all for you. And for Milton and for the friends and even strangers.

Aliya Cheyanne 34:00

And you're grateful for your family. And I'm grateful for my family, even if they're when we're not gonna turn this episode into that. Like I've told you before, everybody has to take responsibility for their parts in it. You you cannot say that, and then when people reach out, you you get grumpy or you're not in the mood to deal with them. And then you say nobody cares and nobody's there. Like you gotta have that. You gotta take accountability for your part in it too. It's not just them doing stuff to you.

Adassa Brown 34:34

Like, just do what I can when I can and let it go.

Aliya Cheyanne 34:43

What do you think is the secret to a long life?

Adassa Brown 34:48

Well, taking care of itself, eating well.

Aliya Cheyanne 34:52

Not everybody can make it to 87, Grammy, that's a feat.

Adassa Brown 34:56

Sharing love. Giving a helping hand when you can, give to others what you want for yourself. Love, try to be happy, try to spread whatever joy you can, whatever happiness you can. Treat treat everybody, you know, well, as well as you can.

The Storm Outside And Getting Home

Aliya Cheyanne 35:20

This is my podcast, so of course there has to be a segment about me. Yeah, yeah. Do that, do that. So I'll wait for you to take a sip of water. My god, look at them waves. Jesus.

Adassa Brown 35:34

You see the the the beach not covered with people.

Aliya Cheyanne 35:38

The storm is raging. They packed up all the lounge chairs by the pools because the wind was too strong. The waves are like every now and then you see somebody out there in the middle of the rain in the pool, but for the most part, nobody's really hanging out out there.

Adassa Brown 35:55

Waves are rough.

Aliya Cheyanne 35:57

We're monitoring our flight and hoping that everything goes well, goes smoothly, there's no delays or cancellation, so we can get home on time and get back to Stormy Girl.

Adassa Brown 36:13

And Miss Stormy Girl. Me too. So much. We have to talk to her today.

Memories Of You As A Child

Aliya Cheyanne 36:20

Yeah, we will. Okay, Granny. So what were your first impressions of me when I was born? When I was a baby. You were the cutest. I was a big baby too. Mommy always tells me I was a heavy hefty baby.

Adassa Brown 36:36

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I had fun, lots of fun with you. I had jaundice when I was a baby. Yeah, but that was because she was drinking a lot too much carrot juice. Uh and I think that was I don't know if that's what causes jaundice for me. Yeah, I think I think that's that's I think that's what she had said.

Aliya Cheyanne 36:59

Oh maybe she was craving carrot juice. What kind of child was I growing up? Loving, sweet. You used to say I I I really don't like soup that much now, but you used to say I used to always want my to the door.

Adassa Brown 37:20

As you get to the door.

Aliya Cheyanne 37:22

Where's my grandma, where's my soup?

Adassa Brown 37:27

And I I remember when when gentle's when we were at and gentle's daughter came over. Gentle came over and he brought his daughter. And you and you and her were in a little baby pool that I had bought on the site. I remember that so clear like it was yesterday. I think I have a picture of that. And then when you graduated from from kindergarten, I brought you a bunch of flowers. And you took the funk flowers, but you didn't want to take no pictures. And I remember you crying on to you and I said, What are you crying about?

Aliya Cheyanne 38:08

What are you crying about?

Adassa Brown 38:12

I remember that so well. I still don't like really taking pictures that much. And then we took you to uh I think it was Rye Playlands, and you were playing in the water, and it's the girl the the the lady that was in charge is she said, she's a smart kid. She's a smart kid, she's gonna be a s very smart kid. You don't see any other kid doing that.

Aliya Cheyanne 38:37

Oh Jesus. Does that take intelligence?

Adassa Brown 38:41

Yeah, oh I remember that very well, too.

Aliya Cheyanne 38:45

What qualities do you see in me that remind you of yourself? If any. If not, that's okay too. We have been shy in common.

Adassa Brown 38:55

Shyness, but you're kind, you're loving, you're thoughtful.

Aliya Cheyanne 39:02

Sometimes, not all miserable sometimes. Alright.

Adassa Brown 39:05

But uh not miserable but impatient.

Aliya Cheyanne 39:11

Yeah, yeah. I don't deny it my impatience. Yeah, but other than that, what are your hopes and wishes for my life?

Advice For Your Future And Final Blessing

Adassa Brown 39:22

That that you find somebody or somebody find you that can take very good care of you. Oh brother, you know, help to change you into a better person. You're making a life of your own, so you don't have to depend on anybody, and I'll make sure that have a little a little kid, so I have a little great whether it's a boy or a girl.

Aliya Cheyanne 39:48

You have storm, even if even if even if you adopt one. Oh well, adoption maybe. You have storm. That's as close to a kid as you get it from me.

Adassa Brown 40:00

That's not the same.

Aliya Cheyanne 40:01

Yes, it is. Are you kidding me? I got storm at eight weeks. The same way you gotta get up in the night and change pamper and feed baby. That's what you have to do with a puppy when they're that dog. That's true. And that's true. Dogs are permanent toddlers. Even when they get senior, they're still like babies.

Adassa Brown 40:24

Yeah.

Aliya Cheyanne 40:24

So some people actually have kids, so at least when the kid gets to a certain age, it's self-sufficient. Instead, I chose a dog. I chose a permanent baby. Not permanent, but you know, a little baby. Yeah, I don't know about kids. I don't know if motherhood is for me. I don't know if I'll be a a good mom.

Adassa Brown 40:49

But I love me, but if that's not what you want, shouldn't leave it alone.

Aliya Cheyanne 40:54

You know.

Adassa Brown 40:56

Some people have kids and they don't want to be bothered.

Aliya Cheyanne 41:01

Some people have kids that really should not have kids.

Adassa Brown 41:04

There you there you go. But there we are. There you go. Everybody everybody either hanging out on the porch or by the window looking out.

Aliya Cheyanne 41:17

What advice would you give me as I continue building my life and my creative work and getting older?

Adassa Brown 41:26

Well, keep being the person you are, loving and kind, and keep building your life the way you are. I'm very proud of you right now. And I think you're doing well. Better than a lot of people. So you should be you should be proud of yourself too. That you accomplish so much. Well, thanks. Keep keep improving yourself and keep being independent. You don't have to div you know depend on anybody else. Well, I learned that from you, Granny.

Aliya Cheyanne 42:02

I get to take a lot of risks in my life because of you. So thank you. All right, we're we're nearing the end now. So would you like to leave a message for your children, your grandchildren, and your great grandchildren and your great-great-grandchildren?

Adassa Brown 42:20

Love one another, build a decent loving life, be dependent dependent on yourself, improve yourself, grow closer together, be more mindful of one another. That's it.

Aliya Cheyanne 42:35

That's a good message. What do you hope people remember about you years and years and years from now?

Adassa Brown 42:43

That I'm always there for them. That I love them very much. No matter who they are, how much I know them or don't know them, they're always in my prayers. That's very sweet. Yep.

Aliya Cheyanne 43:10

What a beautiful conversation with my granny. One that I will cherish forever. One that will be here in the many, many years to come. To listeners who see this, thank you for tuning in. I encourage you for the loved ones in your life. You don't have to have a fancy podcast or YouTube channel or anything like that to create something like this. It could be a voice note, it could be a video on your smartphone, whatever the format. I highly encourage this. This too is legacy. These conversations to matter to have and to hold forever in the time to come, no matter what. I'm so grateful for my granny and to my granny for having this conversation with me for the beautiful life that I've been able to have and cultivate because of the sacrifices that she made, my grandfather made, my parents made for me to be here and to share a moment like this. I will treasure it forever. To our family members who tune in, I hope that this conversation rests well in your heart. I hope that it matters to you, and I hope that you took something away from this. To family and loved ones and community to come. Those of you who have listened to this in the past now, those of you who will listen to it in the future, thank you. May you be blessed, may you be prosperous, may you be happy, may you be well, and may you know that you were and are loved. Thank you so much for tuning into this episode, and I'll catch you in our season finale. Bye.