The Slides That Keep Me Rooted

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The pair of slides have been with me for over 35 years. It’s been with me throughout my ups and downs, and it represents the one stable piece of my childhood. Whenever everything in my life was chaotic, this belonging acted as my anchor; it reminded me of my grandmother.

She wasn’t my biological grandmother but the one who took care of me as a child. I don’t remember any other early caregiver but just Mama Mtaa; that’s what everyone called her. It was a nickname referring to her as the mother of the community. Her love for me was unconditional, and that love has always helped me push through tough times.

Even though the slides are old and beat up, they still have remnants of its past life. They are falling apart, but they make me feel whole, reminding me of what matters: love, peace, and home.

Something that I have struggled to achieve as an immigrant in my new home, but this belonging reminds me that I have all that within myself.

Photo caption if needed.

Anonymous • Age 41 • Petaluma resident

The storyteller’s father is Japanese and mother is Kenyan. She grew up moving between the two countries and the U.S. She has been living in Sonoma County for more than 18 years, and all her life experiences have given her the inspiration to become a humanitarian Expressive Arts therapist.