Sojourner's Truth

This weekend, I mentioned that I was headed to my Girls’ Night. I’ve written about this particular group of girlfriends before. Of which, I am the only black woman. Our friendship is a close-knit one. They were all friends at work for several years and ended up befriending me about a year after I started to work there. There are 6 of us total.  Although we’re slowly starting to all leave our one work location, we still make it a point to get together at least once a month, if not more.

Over the years, we’ve celebrated marriages, childbirth and job promotions. Mourned the deaths of parents and loved ones. Withstood diagnosis of diseases and even job loss. You name it , we’ve been there for each other. They were the women that I chose to be with the night President Obama accepted the Democratic nomination. In an earlier post, I recounted having an almost out-of-body experience watching my sister circle rush to leave the restaurant so that we could have cocktails and listen to Obama’s speech in the comfort on one of our sister’s home.  They seemed more excited than I was…even the two staunch Republicans in our crew.

On one hand, we have a lot in common. We are all extremely intelligent, multi-degreed, ambitious, family oriented GRITS (Girls Raised In The South). But I often find myself thinking, if this had been 100 or even 30 years ago, our friendship would have looked a lot different.

Continue reading ‘Gone With the Wind?’

One day my soul just opened up and things started happenin’
things I can’t quite explain
I mean I cried and cried like never before
I cried tears of ten thousand mothers
I couldn’t even feel anything because
I cried ’til I was numb.

One day my soul just opened up
I felt this overwhelming pride
what I was proud of only God knows!
Like the pride of a hundred thousand fathers
basking in the glory of their newborn sons
I was grinnin’ from ear to ear!

One day my soul just opened up
I started laughing
and I laughed for what seemed like forever
wasn’t nothin’ particularily funny goin’ on
but I laughed anyhow
I laughed the joy of a million children playin’ in the mud
I laughed ’til my sides ached
Oh God! It felt so good!

One day my soul just opened up
There were revelations, annihilations, and resolutions
feelings of doubt and betrayal, vengeance and forgiveness
memories of things I’d seen and done before
of places I’d been, although I didn’t know when
there were lives I’d lived
people I’d loved
battles I’d fought
victories I’d won
and wars I’d lost.

One day my soul just opened up
and out poured all the things
I’d been hiding and denying
and living through
that had just happened moments before.

One day my soul just opened up
and I decided
I was good and ready!
I was good and ready
to surrender
my life
to God.

So, with my soul wide open,
I sat down
wrote Her a note
and told her so.

Gemmia L. Vanzant
From the book “One Day My Soul Just Opened Up, by: Iyanla Vanzant

I absolutely LOVE this poem…except…it didn’t quite happen for me like that. In fact, instead of my soul opening up – my altar literally BLEW up. Yep, burst into a ball of flames in my bedroom. Flames, water, smoke detectors, neighbors doing ‘health and wellness’ checks. Don’t believe me? Here’s the before pic:

*yes…I can see that the flames are a tad high… at least I can see that NOW…shut up…*

And then the after pic (all evidence of burned walls and melted wax have been blurred out to protect the humiliated) :

I can laugh about it…now….kinda…

So before I tell you the story about how my altar blew up, let me try to explain how it all came to pass.

Continue reading ‘One Day My Altar Blew Up’

“I hope you (FLASH!) and dance…”

~SoJo, 2010~

Continue reading ‘Flash and Dance’

“And when we both get older
With walking canes and hair of gray
Have no fear, even though it’s hardly here
I will stand real close and say,
Thank you for being a friend”
~Gold Andrew: Thank You For Being A Friend~

By the time you guys probably read this, I will be happily engrossed in Ladies’ Night w/ one of my crews that I hang out with. I have always been the type of person that enjoys having several different cliques. When I’m in a new environment, I hate to be the person that clings to one group. Or the person that only befriends the friends of the one person that I may know in a particular setting. Eagles have wings and therefore I love to fly.
Continue reading ‘Gold Club’

~from the january 2006 archives~

Continue reading ‘From the Archives (A.W.B.) Angry White Bytch Syndrome’

My roommate, #23, gave me a handmade laminated poem on cardstock paper almost 15 years ago.  It had two little cut out girl figures with a pyramid in the middle.  It wasn’t for any special occasion.  She just felt like doing it.  To this day, it’s one of my most precious gifts.

Continue reading ‘Sistaspeak’

Right before I went to bed last night, I had a conversation with God. I was feeling somewhat out of sorts and I half-jokingly said aloud, “God. I really wish that you could give me a do-over”. Yeah, I talk to God out loud sometimes. And you know what? Sometimes He talks back…

Continue reading ‘Hindsight’

Today marks the 8 month anniversary of my “freedom”. I moved my niece into her dorm room in August. Having the house back to myself after 2 years seems almost surreal at times. Now that she’s safely tucked away in college, I can have a little “mommy moment” and reflect on some of our best times. This is one of them…
~from the april 2008 archives~
Continue reading ‘Ready! Set! Go! (From the Archives)’