Mother’s Day weekend can be bittersweet for a myriad of reasons. Over the holiday weekend, actress Lauren London had a candid sit down with herbalist and author Queen Afua about what this holiday and motherhood, in general, has been like since her partner, Grammy-winning rapper Nipsey Hussle was slain last year.
In a clip from their conversation which took place via Black Girls Rock’s Instagram page, the two women discuss what parenthood looks like while grappling with the loss of a loved one.
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“They’re ancestors now,” began Queen Afua. “We can call him up and they will speak through us, support us and encourage us. What do you say to the loss?”
“I say that I am with you. I stand with you. I can relate to your pain,” responded London. “Today, for me, I would have had Nip here a couple years ago or a year ago to say ‘Happy Mother’s Day,’ bring my flowers, and [now] I don’t. So in that space where I don’t have him physically here, I nurture it into myself. I will embrace the love that I do get from my family.”
“The flowers that I do get that come from my cousins, my mother or my brother. I fully embrace that, right. I will fully be present with my kids today because time is not promised,” she continued. “I will light a candle for my beloved. I will do the things that honor him that I know that he respected. And yeah, I feel more importantly, when there’s an empty space, when there’s a loss, you just do things in their honor and that fills up a little bit of the hole.”
READ MORE: Lauren London pens tribute to Nipsey Hussle: ‘Until we are together again’
“Everyone is just so filled with love for you,” gushed Queen Afua. “And every time I hear of your name, they’re always uplifting you.”
“I know it!” agreed London, adding, “The prayers of the people have kept me. They have no idea.”
On Mother’s Day, London shared how her children have helped her heal as well.
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