The Godmother…ok, only of two.
How the universe brings you what you need, always.
In January 2020, I landed in New Orleans, Louisiana as a temporary retreat from 20 years of living in New York City, with 6 prior living in Chicago. In need of a break from big city living, although driven and focused on living out my dreams, as a native Memphian, my spirit needed a break.
The move to New Orleans felt random and odd to many. Even I had no tangible explanation for my choice. Yet, I was there, and after COVID crippled NYC in intense lockdown mode daily, what was to be temporary looked as if it was going to be a bit longer.
Enter Summer of 2021, my first cousin Mica and sisterfriend Renee informed me that their daughters had chosen Louisiana universities. Mica’s daughter, Freya, chose LSU, and Renee’s daughter, Symone, chose Xavier. The kicker was that they were BOTH my Goddaughters.
That’s right. Upon my mother’s passing in 2002, many in my inner circle were at a loss for words of how I would fare after losing my best friend in life.
In what felt at the time a deep sense of sisterhood, Mica and Renee brought me deeper into the confines of their immediate families by naming me Godmother for the girls they were pregnant with at the time of my mother’s transition. I never had this conversation with them, nor expressed gratitude for bringing me near at that critical juncture in my life, but giving me purpose through Godmotherhood was a saving grace.
20 years later, who knew that I would never bear kids of my own. But God saw fit for me to go through the experience of being mom-adjacent being there for move-in day for Freya, and the family crawfish boil for Symone in New Orleans. My respect for my cousin and sisterfriend as mothers and family beacons shot through the roof.
I’d never had to be available to anyone, or responsible for anyone, until these four women made a Godmother out of me. For Mardi Gras, Mica called and asked if I would be the parent for the festivities as she was not coming and her daughter and her friends wanted to come to New Orleans from Baton Rouge. All’s well that ends well, but I got to experience first hand parent worry wondering where they were all night, and the horror of vomit on my frilly shower curtain (which technically was from one of the Goddaughter’s friends, not my precious one). And then there was the Hurricane Ida evacuation in the wee hours of the night to Jackson, Mississippi first, followed by Memphis, TN with Symone. Me housing and feeding another human being presented a new opportunity for growth for me. I was challenged with the how of it all and learned a lot about myself, but again, the Goddaughter in my care was safe.
As both of the young ladies completed their undergraduate collegiate journeys in 4 years flat (from the amazing universities where they started — such an accomplishment), I beam with pride for both of them. They are both destined for success. And I at 51, am much clearer that the universe always places you where you need to be and gives you want you need — often for a lesson unknown to you, and that you will always be provided for and taken care of.
Olivia is a C-Suite Marketing Exec, Author of 51 Brand Marketing Tips for Creators & Founder of Omerge Alliances & Freedom at The Mat. An NYU & Loyola Professor, she has led mktg at influential organizations such as Carol’s Daughter, VIBE, Live Nation, Ogilvy & more for 25+ years. A Native Memphian, now based in New Orleans, is a forever Harlemite (NYC) who travels extensively and blooms where she is planted.
