Have you ever looked in the mirror and then realized that you look like someone. That one person in your family that you didn’t expect to look like?

I had that happen to me the other day. I was camping. As usual when I camp I braided my hair. As I stood looking at my reflection I suddenly saw one of my Kokoms looking back at me. I was so shocked that I stopped braiding my hair and really looked at myself. I saw Kokom Agnes looking at me. I’m not sure what exactly it was, maybe it was the curly hair sticking out of my braids, maybe it was the glasses, whatever it was I was surprised.

Kokom Agnes was my grandmother’s aunt, her husband was my grandfathers brother. As a kid I remember visiting them and eating cookies and drinking tea. When Mosom Morris passed we didn’t really go visit anymore.

She has been passed for at least 25 years now maybe even longer. I hadn’t really thought of how she looked for years. In fact I hadn’t really thought about how she looked until that moment. As I looked at myself I was reminded of how her hair looked and how it was frizzy even though it was braided. I’m still not sure what it was in that moment but I did see our connection in that moment. I was grateful and surprised all at the same time.