Shelly Laurent

Born on April 4th, 1984 in Laredo, Texas.

So my grandmother was a very fierce woman. But when I say fierce, not like cruel, more like strong. She knew exactly what she wanted. And she was pretty, she was that way. She was someone I admired tremendously. Well she was always, always dolled up, too. I remember that about her. She always had her nails done. She always wore a lot of jewelry, had her hair done, was always dressed up. And she was a smoker. I remember that too. A lot of smoking, and a lot of coffee.

My grandfather was more gentle. And, but he was a tailor, so he was a tailor for, like, 40 years before he passed. Yeah. So I would remember him in his room where he would work and make clothes and sew, and I would hear the machine the ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta. Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta. it that did it. And he would smoke, too, and the coffee. I think those are the smells that I remember very early on. The coffee, the cigarets, her perfume.

My grandmother cooking in the kitchen and my grandfather in the kitchen with her, and that they were talking. Yeah. Them just talking. I can't even remember what they were talking about, but just talking and, his voice, her voice, the back and forth. And my grandfather was very gentle, you know, he had, like, this very soft and very kind voice. And when he would hug you, it was like, okay, that's what a hug is. he means it. So I remember him hugging my grandmother in the kitchen and them talking, going back and forth. And it was just a glimpse, like I went in there and I kind of looked around and I, I don't remember what I was doing. I grabbed something and then I walked off. I would say that's probably the memory that stays pretty strong.