I Get It From My Babcia ❤️ (Patreon)

Hi Patreon Fam,

My Babcia (Grandmother in Polish) passed away yesterday.

She’d been living with severe dementia and depended on skilled nursing care for several years. Even though we knew this time would come, it still brings up a lot of emotions, memories, and reflections about living and dying.

This picture of my Babcia pretty much sums her up. She was a quiet, humble, strong, independent “old-world” Polish woman who gave birth to six children, lost one, and practically raised the rest on her own after moving our family to America in hopes of creating a better life for all of us. My grandfather struggled with alcoholism, so Babcia carried much of the weight for our family.

I’m actually the first generation born here in the United States. I grew up speaking Polish as my first language. Babcia never really learned English, though she picked up a few words here and there over the years.

She was a woman of very few words, so whenever she’d do something completely out of character, it always caught us by surprise…like this cheeky smile while holding a penis pillow. 😂 Now I know where I get my comfort talking about and working with people who have penises!

The qualities I hope to carry forward from my Babcia are her strength, resilience, humility, fearless independence, and deep faith and spirituality.

I’ll be traveling home this weekend for her funeral and to spend time with my family. Thank you in advance for your patience if I’m a little slower responding to messages, DMs, and comments over the next few days.

Love to you all, and thank you for helping me co-create a space where we can show up as our genuine, messy, human selves. ❤️