on healing bloodlines
Musings on Mother’s Day, Lineage, and an Offering
Dear ones,
We laid the second-to-last sibling of my paternal grandfather to rest in February.
Because of family relations, I met them later in life.
When I first started seeking information on the family members I didn’t know, my uncle told me the Super Bowl—which at the time included my father’s siblings and their immediate families—was our family reunion.
A few years later, I held the first-ever Paschall Family Reunion.
And a few months ago, I stood under a chickapin oak tree with my great-great-great-grandfather’s enslaver’s great-great-great-grandson (or something like that).
I am healing my bloodline—literally and metaphorically.
My mama and I started therapy.
I am still planning and holding family reunions, digging in archives, and trying to rally folks together.
And on Friday, I finally got an infusion of iron that I had needed for months.
At one point during the infusion, I silently chanted, “This is for the healing of my bloodline.”
On this Mother’s Day—a day that can be filled with capitalism, confusion, and complexity—I call in the healing of bloodlines.
With a grateful heart for all those who have mothered me and continue to mother me, on this side and from across the river—Delta, Reva, Sarah, Doris, Winnie.
Later today, I am hosting A Sacred Space to Honor the Legacy of Motherhood and Ancestry. This 90-minute online gathering is a space for Black women, gender-expansive folks, and anyone seeking to honor their motherlines through reflection, gentle movement, and Body Temple Dance—a trauma-informed somatic practice that reconnects the body to memory and ancestry. Together, we will engage in memory rituals, soft breathwork, and intuitive dance to celebrate the mothers who came before us and nurture the power of remembrance in our bodies.
This offering is Pay What You Can, with a suggested donation of $10.00. More here.
May we each find rest, reflection, and reconnection today.
With tenderness,
Rev. Beloved (aka Brittany)