katie shaw ficker

*I originally wrote this for ThatsWhatShe.

We both kneel down next to the small coffee plant poking out of the Guatemalan soil. At this level, I can look into this woman’s soft eyes instead of a couple of feet over her head when we are standing next to each other. She explains to my husband how she and her children cared for the discarded beans during their months of picking coffee on a coastal farm; from the beginning her unwavering resolve to do whatever that was needed to care for her family made a strong impression on us. Her husband had passed away several months ago from an illness, and she lives for her children now. And while her spirit permeates a gentle sweetness, there is a resolute strength that can be seen in the ever-so-slight upturn of her chin and heard in the hint of pride in her voice as she tells us how her neighbors laughed at her for thinking she could get these now few-inch high plants to grow in their soil.

As we rise from our crouched position, I catch sight of her children, standing tall together in front of the small adobe house that they call home. The oldest, a daughter, as thin as a rail, holds a chubby baby while the next in line – also a daughter – quickly comes to help her mother gather the coffee plants after my husband tells her that we will purchase them all… read the full story here: http://thatswhatshe.com/embraced/