Grace The Formative Years Everything Has a Beginning “Wow!” whispered the distinguished gentleman, invited to commission a new ward at Efia Nkwanta Hospital, as he spotted the stunning nurse among her colleagues. “Who is that beauty?” he asked. “Oh, that is Alberta,” the doctor replied. “Hmm, I would like to meet her afterward if you can arrange it.” This was how my parents, Moses Kofi Williams and Alberta Nkokobio Amba Walters, met, fell in love, and got married. A few years later, on August 12, 1974, they were in the maternity ward of that same hospital. My father, cradling me lovingly, whispered in awe, “She is beautiful and should be named after someone great.” My mother, tired from giving birth, looked on proudly. I was their second child but the third for my mother, who had a son before marrying my dad. As the first daughter, following tradition, I was named after my beloved paternal grandmother, Monica Ayah Williams. Three months later, my mother was pregnant again with my sister, Anita. With all the attention on Anita when she was born, I quickly became independent. Kindergarten The Birthday Journal 5
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