It’s been a minute, I know. Life is good and busy, and I needed to take a step back to regroup. I think I have some structure again and I am looking forward to making this little corner of the web a priority again.
This summer I will be traveling to quite a few major cities with Just for Me and Walmart. I’m really enjoying the opportunity to travel to new cities, interact with different people, while getting the opportunity to work with a great brand. Last weekend Trina and I were in Memphis, TN. Trina is on the same tour, but she is working with Dr. Miracle’s so we get to travel together. I’d never been to Memphis, so I was looking forward to fitting in a few sites, bites and drinks.
After visiting the Lorraine Motel we ventured over to Beale Street. It reminded me a lot of Bourbon street. Lots of music, characters and people watching.
Capped off the weekend at Walmart, where I had the opportunity to meet some blog/IG friends! It’s always so good to actually meet folks in person.
Saturday, I’ll be in Colonial Heights, VA., and Laurel, MD on Sunday. If you are in the area, would love to meet you!
Also, I want to give a shoutout to the nice lady I met walking to Target a few weeks ago. I was looking a HOT mess and she was so nice. I won’t put your real name out here, but if you are reading this email me. Let’s have lunch!
Thank you Ivory for sponsoring this conversation. All opinions are mine.
I once believed at some point I would get the hang of parenting. I’ve since learned that at every age there is something new to learn and my kids will continuously need me in a different capacity. Just when I think I’ve mastered a stage it ushers itself out and welcomes in a new challenge as if to say this is a lifelong game of chess and strategy.
Addison just turned eight and overnight she wants to do all things girly and spends so much time with me I often feel like we are attached at the hip.
….and let me say I am totally fine with this, it’s just trying to get her to understand boundaries when it comes to my things and makeup, and clothes and shoes and phone, and planners, and… pretty much everything.
I’ve unapologetically crafted major parts of my life around being available to my children. I have so many fond memories of moments spent with my mother, that I can’t help but work to recreate those mother/daughter moments for Addison and I. From time spent in the garden to evening bike rides, one of our favorite pastimes is spending time outdoors.
The gentle smell of our favorite Ivory body wash, envelops our evenings as we cuddle and have girl talk after a long day. Her favorite wash is Pear & Sandalwood and mine is Sweet Pea & Lily. She feels grown up using my body wash and I feel good knowing my favorite body wash is gentle enough for her sensitive skin.
As the summer days spread out ahead of us, I’m looking forward to unplugging a bit and spending time with my family and creating epic mommy and me memories with my baby girl. Tradition is welcomed in our home, just as I remember the smell of Ivory soap in my home as a child, Addison will have those same memories tied to the time we spend together.
Let me just go on record and say if reincarnation is a thing, I would like to come back as a kid today on spring break. I’ve seen photos of children in Paris, New York, New Orleans, Las Vegas, the Bahamas, Cancun and a plethora of beaches to boot.
Apparently extravagant travel for spring break is now a thing and I’m all the way here for it. We laid low this spring break for a number of reasons, the main reason being our travel itinerary for the summer is turning out to be LIT. Saving coins won out over a spring break excursion this year, but we’ll make up for it with summer travels.
Monday afternoon I had Adrian load the children’s bikes into the car and off we went for a little Atlanta beltline adventure. Addison is still fairly new to riding her bike and I didn’t think it wise for me to ride so I walked while they rode. Upon getting on the trail she was very wobbly and distracted, I’m glad I wasn’t trying to wield a bike and keep an eye on her. She did take an unfortunate tumble down a hill. I was right there to dust her off, encourage her and set her back on her way. In full disclosure we all had a good laugh about her tumble at lunch.
She found her groove about a mile in and she effortlessly peddled along side her brother as we enjoyed the lovely afternoon. We stopped along the way to take photos with a tiny door, sculptures and graffiti decorated underpasses, all popular landmarks along the Atlanta beltline. We trekked the full 2 miles into Midtown before stopping for lunch. Once lunch was over, complete with popsicles we borrowed the bathroom at Trader Joe’s and got back on the trail.
Please note those 2 miles into Midtown would require another 2 mile trek back to the car. At this point she was a pro and confidently found herself weaving in and out of pedestrian traffic while my legs struggled to keep up. They rode together out of my sight at times, stopping to wait for me to catch up. I shall not leave out the fact that our return trip was on a slight incline and when I asked if their legs were at least sore after 4 miles of bike riding they said no. Meanwhile your girl was sore for a few days. It’s okay, I needed that jumpstart to salvage some sort of a summer body.
How was your spring break? Did you do any traveling?
For a very long time, I spent my energy in some fashion or another coveting things other people had. Be it a larger home, a nicer car, lavish vacations, and successful careers, you name it I wanted it. I tried desperately to fight against my emotions and will them to understand that things aren’t and will never be everything. Tragically the younger version of me struggled desperately to grasp the concept, leaving me depleted of joy and full of envy when ironically the goal should’ve been the very opposite.
As the years passed and I learned to be content with what I had, I was still tragically missing the point that there isn’t a material thing on this earth that could give me peace of mind until I found my happy in a place that was embedded deep inside of myself. A place that even living in my own body I had to dig deep and search for, the place that held the key to a sort of serenity that existed in lack and in excess.
The past few months I’ve been very intentional about the conversations and company I keep. One of my favorite sayings is “Timing is everything,” and while I didn’t make it up, I sure have adopted it as a rule of thumb when it comes to my personal growth. What doesn’t make sense or speak to me this week, may affect my future in a few weeks. Keeping my mind open to possibilities and new relationships has served me very well the first quarter of this year. I implore you in any season of life you find yourself in to get grounded, find some quiet time to meditate and focus on what is good and positive. Pray, repeat scriptures and affirmations that will ground you when you feel out of control. Step out of what you’ve always known and challenge those things that don’t make sense when it comes to finding your seat at the happy table. If it hasn’t been working all this time, be open to new things and ideals to get you there. Sometimes our thinking and practices of doing what mama ‘nem did may not be working and that’s fine, let’s figure out what is working. Get a therapist, exercise, do what you need to do for you.
Lawd knows I’m not perfect and I have a long way to go, and I was very vocal here about how tough the end of 2017 was for me. I came into 2018 knowing what I did last year wasn’t working and I needed to be about the business of getting my mind in a place to sustain constant positive personal growth and I’ve made great strides. In this case friends be like me and do the work to get to a happier place. I figure we all want things, but I’ve figured out they will never be enough until we find our happy, and I’m not talking about surface happy, I’m talking about a joy that isn’t dependent on the actions of anyone or anything. Just an ole nasty stubborn happy that can’t be broken.
I love sharing little bits of our family life in hopes that people don’t find the material things in them important but the love and laughter we insert into our home the true goal. Here’s to me being consistent in getting our weekend vlogs back up weekly! Here is our newest one.
I wish you all the success in making your Q2 dreams come true. If you haven’t planned out those goals yet get to it! How did Q1 treat you? Let’s chat!
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