Day 5: List 5 places that I would like to visit

5 Places that I Want to Visit

in no particular order

1. Barbados - I am guilty of loving beaches and all places warm.  Being from California, the water isn't as clear and the sand is not as white.  I love different cultures and would love to experience something different.

2. Cape Town - Of course the Motherland has to be on the list. 



3. Nashville with my husband and kids so that they can experience
my Alma Mater, the illustrious Fisk University.


4.  Fiji Momi Bay Resort - I am fascinated with the rooms on the water. I am all about an experience.

5. Jamaica of course it is all about the beaches, waterfalls and the food.

Day 4: Write about someone who inspires you.

 I am continuously inspired by those that have keep on keepin' on.  I am inspired by those that pick themselves up and simply carry on regardless of the hand that is dealt.  Life is not easy.  There is so much going on in the world, in our cities, neighborhoods and even homes.  You almost never know all of what someone is going through in their personal time (lives) unless they outright share it.  Yet in still I know so many simply going through (keyword - through).  There are the jobless and they thank goodness I have this job so that I can live some sort of life. There are the homeless and the thank goodness I have a place to lay my head even though all of this is going on around me.  There is the mad, angry and alone but yet in still let me keep this smile on my face masking all just another day.  The list goes on and on.  I am especially inspired by those that take the time to care for others.  

Presently, I am watching my mother care for her mother.  She is doing the best that she can to hold it all together and some days are a lot better than others.  My grandmother has Alzheimer disease and it has just reached a point where it is becoming just too much to handle and bare knowing that this is reality. I am listening to overwhelm and doubt set in accompanied by pain and fear.  My grandmother is the matriarch of our family (and my last grandparent).  At some point she has helped and taken care of everyone.  She has been hope, prayers, shelter, food, laughs, truth and love.  Most of all she has always been the strongest person we have all known and now she is weak.  Some days she is resistant and other days she is her joyful pleasant self yet those days are falling very far and between. She is sometimes mean and so often confused.  It is hard to see a person acknowledge that they are losing their mind.  It is hard to deal with the  reverting moments.  It is hard to try to make them drink water, walk to the bathroom and bathe.  It is hard to go to work and do a job most efficiently knowing that all of this is going on at home.  It is hard to feel alone and as if you must monitor what to share or simply mask on trying to make the world believe that it is all alright especially when you are breaking inside.  Life on hold for the most part and every attempt to steal away for a moment is filled with guilt.  It is all a myriad of emotions constantly but still standing.

I am inspired by mother taking care of her mother and still standing regardless of all that she is feeling and going through.  I have had the pleasure to be her confidante and listen when she needs to vent or a hug through the phone.  I try to be her person.  I am constantly trying to remind her of her greatness that is not weakness.  It takes a strong person to be a care giver to a loved one.  It is a lot all the time especially when you do not know which version of them they are presently.  I am inspired by her strength that she believes is nonexistent, her heart that feels already broken and her love that is absolutely endless.  I am inspired that even though and through it all she has not gotten hard.  She is still somewhat soft and she is still good to so many, even more than they deserve.  She inspires me to be a better woman every day.

Day 3: What are you top 3 Pet Peeves?

TOP 3 PET PEEVES

in no particular order

* GRAMMATICAL ERRORS  - I try my best not to be the grammar police (though I am always correcting to myself) but there is nothing like a meme that is so awesome but I WILL NOT POST because the grammar is incorrect and apparently no one knows any such tense.

* SIDE CHICK GLORIFICATIONS - I cannot with this foolery. GET YO ENTIRE LIFE!!!

*INCONSIDERATION – inconsiderate of time, feelings and people. It aint hard (I know that is not correct but someone speaks ebonics and understood). If there is an issue stay in your own lane

Day 2: Write something that someone told you about yourself that you never forgot.

GET YOUR HEART AND MIND ALIGN SO YOU CAN BE WHOLE

When my daddy dies it seemed as if my entire life rapidly fell apart.  I lost my job and my car.  I was all over the place emotionally and I cannot even share what my mental was like.  It was  crash and burn time period. I didn't know how I was going to make it or where my next anything was coming from while trying to cypher out what me new normal was to be with my daddy gone.  It was all too much so many days.  I recall the pain and heartache and the get yourself together and find a job.  After a couple of months, my mom finally said it.  pack your stuff and come home (back to LA) once your lease it up. She said that Atlanta will be there and you can always go back but you gotta get your head and your heart align so that you can be whole.  This is no way to go through life. 

And I did.

It turned out to be a wonderful decision that truly allowed me to heal (to an extent) and deal with all of the things that I was feeling in a productive manner.  I was able to take my time and be surrounded with people that loved on me in a way that I would not have experienced if I had stayed in Atlanta.  It wasn't my time and sometimes you have to give in to reach your potential.  I am grateful for that time and all of the relationships that were cultured during that time.

Day 1: List 10 Things that Make You Really Happy.

In no particular order

1. no longer being single makes me really happy.  The struggle was real and I have to admit there was a time that I wasn't sure if marriage was ever really going to happen for me.  I am happy that I was eventually receptive to this man.  He has brought a passion into my life that I didn't know was missing.

2. My husband's love and support of me and my family makes me happy.  It is not every day that a person can truly love his inlaws in a way that is like his very own. I love and appreciate that about him.  It makes me extremely happy to know that we journey through life together with such love.

3. I am happy to know that I have really wonderful people in my life that simply want the very best for me.  It has a long road to friendship which leads me to #4

4. I am happy to know and have such discernment which piggybacks on my #3.  Throughout life there are times when your  thoughts, beliefs and love for people are tested.  I have not always passed those test.  There have been times when people have stayed around a lot longer than they should have (I allowed it) and it sometimes clouded my judgement on people that were for me.  This makes me really happy.

5. fantastic eyelashes and lipstick makes me happy.  not a typical something but these girly things are awesome to me.

6. My new children make me happy in a way that I did not know was possible.  I am newly married and do not plan on having children of my own but thankfully my husband came with kids that are pretty awesome.  It is a major transition but it has proven to be fairly rewarding thus far.

7. Music makes me really happy.  Real Music with great lyrics and not just a hot beat.

8. LOVE makes me really happy.  Again, I have amazing people in my life that I genuinely love through the thick of it,  Being so far away has truly made me solidify how much these people mean to me.

9.  Brunch makes me really happy when you're amongst like minded people that believe that cocktails are necessary

10. WORDS - I always feel that I have so much to say but always want to be understood.  I try my best to use my words to the best of my ability.