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USA250 Journal Project
Personal Chronicle: July 4, 2025 – July 5, 2026
A gift for reflection. A record of now. A story for what’s next.
📍 Journal of Nadine Bellamy
Atlanta, Georgia
Started: June 23, 2025 (written in the morning light, beside a cup of tea that’s gone cold)
Who am I?
I am Nadine Althea Bellamy. Once known as Miss Nadine to the neighborhood kids. These days, I forget things. Sometimes I forget where I put my glasses. Sometimes I forget names I used to say in my sleep. But there are things I still remember like the scent of summer jasmine, the hush of a choir before the first note, and the way my daughter’s laugh curls up at the edges.
I was a singer once. Still am, when my mind is clear and my heart is full. I was a mother. I am a mother. And now, I am watched over by the child I raised.
People say I’m slipping. Maybe I am. But I’m also holding—holding onto what I can, holding onto love, holding onto the sound of Jayden humming down the hall.
Who am I? I am still me. Even if the edges blur. Even if I have to remind myself more often.
How did I get here?
I came up hard and honest in a world that didn’t always want me to shine. I was born in Selma, Alabama in 1953. My daddy worked the land, my mama worked the Lord, and both of them worked too much. I had music in me from the start. Sang in church choirs, school halls, corner stoops. Moved to Atlanta in 1971, chasing something brighter. Found work as a housekeeper, then as a nurse’s aide. Found a man I thought would stay. He didn’t. Found my baby girl. She did.
Tasha was my reason. Still is. She gave me a second song. And Ava and Jayden—my darlings—they are the chorus now.
The forgetting started slow. Words disappearing mid-sentence. Keys in the fridge. Recipes I knew by heart vanishing like smoke. The doctor said the word and I nodded like I understood it. Dementia. Like a soft thief in the night.
But I’m still here. I still love. I still sing. And I still have stories. Even if I need help telling them.
Family
Tasha Bellamy – Daughter.
Ava Bellamy – Grandaughter.
Jayden Bellamy – Grandson.
Keisha Monroe – Daughter’s best friend.
Pastor Jerome – Family Pastor.
