Don’t stay where you aren’t welcomed.

I’m writing about the celebrity that just put all his personal business on the internet. The most recent one. The one that was just reinstated from his last cancellation. I saw a smidge. I’m not an expert. That’s the only disclaimer being offered.

First and foremost, please leave your personal business off the internet. Number one, it’s classless. It’s trashy. It’s unnecessary. Number two, it’s recorded evidence of your ridiculousness. Explain that to the judge…if needed.

Second, and equally important, never stay where you aren’t wanted! I know there’s more to the story. I know there are things left unsaid. I get ALL of that. But I am asking, and/begging, never stay. Never rush back. Never make someone a priority that is not that concerned about you.

Third, but also equally important. If they don’t respect your child, regardless if that’s their child or not, don’t go for that foolishness. Pack your shit, pack your shit, and get out! Yes, that was in my Bernadine voice from Waiting to Exhale.

I saw a smidge.

All easy stuff. Act accordingly.

I have no respect for a parent who doesn’t take care of their child(ren)

Really that’s the whole post. That’s an entire sermon. Thus said the Lord.

Kids need emotional and financial support. They need a safe space to live, food in their bellies, and clothes on their backs. They need to know they are loved and their feelings are respected.

When I send my boys out into the world, they are going as fulfilled and whole individuals. They will be ready to tackle life, be supportive of the people they engage with, and pour positivity back into the world. They won’t be perfect, but they will be intentional, kind, smart, thoughtful, and compassionate.

I take my responsibility as a mother incredibly important. All of it! The money I spend is as valuable as the time I spend. It is the most impactful responsibility I have.

Please don’t come talk to me about anything and try to justify not providing for your children. I will not be able to hear you.

I mean, do you realize this is the definition of dead beat?

The only thing keeping me from burying you in your own ridiculousness is this walk with God. Be blessed.

Today

I’m sitting in a salon chair. It’s been about 15-20 minutes of hair color doing it’s thing. I’m spilling my guts to my hair stylist. I’m wallowing in the chaos of my life, and she’s refusing to let me throw this pity party. She’s pouring positivity into my situation. She’s encouraging me. She’s building me up. She’s loving me wholeheartedly.

This is the only type of relationship I want in my 40s, and I’m just days away from entrance. I’ve had everything else. I’ve been everywhere else. I’m only entertaining the absolute best for me in this next decade. Personally, I’m living in the moments. I’m taking it day by day.

Because anything else will destroy me. I recognize that.

Grateful for the people who remind you of the way God works, the strength you forgot you had, and the beauty of your talents.

XOXO

FYI: Professionally, I’m knocking off heads and demanding everything I want. IJS. The personal me, and the professional me, will have more separation.

Attached

I hollered. Fanned myself. Had to lay down. Fixed myself a drink. Drank it. Repeat. Cried it out. Showered. Drank more, straight from the bottle. Oiled my scalp. Pulled my hair from the root. Screamed. Prayed. Sheesh. This is everything. Infinity. Amen.

Because I hate to lose, even if I don’t really want to win. And, I get overly attached early on. Many times it has developed into a connection, but often not. Maybe that’s why I fight so hard. I allow it to consume me. Maybe that’s why when I’m done, I’m done. I wasn’t that connected in the first place.

I thought I had something in my last relationship. I almost immediately felt this chemistry with him. We seemed instantly connected. I wanted this to work. He was kind. He showed immediate interest. Genuine interest. Q/A. He shared about himself and his life openly. We talked about goals and desires. We talked about fantasy and childhood. It was a lot.

I was falling for this guy. I had a strong connection.

Then a switch flipped. Everything I appreciated started to disappear. Less and less communication. Less and less attention. Less and less of everything.

I questioned it. I was connected. I wanted to figure it out. I was committed to fixing it. I wanted things back the way they’d been.

He told me I was imagining things. We were good. I was creating a problem. I was being ridiculous. Why can’t I just accept that we love each other and let this progress naturally?

Love doesn’t feel like this.

I became manic. This was the attachment. It kicked in at full speed.

Was it me? What changed? When did it change? What happened? Hindsight is 20/20, right? Let me play everything back. Let me profess my emotions. Let me explain my intentions. Let me fix this.

Nothing worked. And, the more I found the more I didn’t want to go back. This man wasn’t who I thought he was.

But I’d introduced my sons. I need to maintain a connection, right? I mean I don’t introduce many men, and I don’t want to seem like there’s a revolving door on my love life. So, yep, let’s be cool. Social media, a few text messages, FaceTime on holidays. Do exes do that? Can we be those people?

Of course, he said. We’re friends, he said.

But none of that was sincere.

I’m okay. I’m disappointed that I allowed my attachment to lead this far. I put my guard down. I thought things were worth fighting for when they weren’t. I allowed someone into my life that wasn’t genuine, and that happens. But when your spirit says something isn’t okay, move on.

I connected to him early, but I became attached and didn’t want to lose again when it started to go south. I fought to win a prize I would probably have been miserable having.

Attachment will wreck your life. Connection feels different.

FYI: No hate. I’m not mad. I could have walked away at any time. I made a choice to continue in the chaos.

It just didn’t work. It’s okay. No hard feelings.

The Golden Rule

This resonates with me in such a major way. I mean slap my church fan on the back of the pew in front of me, while waving my other hand, and yelling “preach”! I feel this.

Every time I’ve been disappointed, but let it go, it chipped away at my feelings for him. (Lots of hims, not just the last one.) He (They) thought I let it go, I was so understanding, I cut him (them) a break, and he (they) appreciated it. I was becoming more and more the best girlfriend. He (they) thought this was the epitome of love.

While I was simply done and waiting for the perfect opportunity to walk away. I couldn’t jump stupid on him, I need that energy to continue to devise my master plan. I was getting out, and I wouldn’t be looking back. Don’t try to stop me, my mind is made up.

Because it’s true that when I’m fighting, it’s passion. You still have me. You still have a chance. We could still make it. When I start saying “okay,” I’m done. I am a lost cause. You’ve pushed me so far away, I decided it wasn’t worth the walk back. I’ve struck out on a whole new path.

It all comes back to the most simplistic rule, Golden. Treat people the way you want to be treated. (I know that’s not the original, but I couldn’t remember all the biblical language and in the proper order.)

Moral of the story: Once a woman stops loving you, the way that only a woman that’s in love with you can, it’s done. We give a thousand chances. Don’t waste them. Grow up. Value what you have. Nurture her and the relationship. See how it grows and develops and how you grow and develop from it.

Or don’t. I’m no expert. I’m just telling it the way I’ve seen it.

Family

There’s always a moment for every single mother that she envisions the family she could have had, or should have had. And, with raging hormones and a new baby, it’s easy to convince yourself that it will, or should, work. It may be bullshit. Be careful.

I left for a reason. I left because I wasn’t happy. I was miserable. And, I can have all the feels, but I can’t let them drive me back into something I left for A REASON.

This is a new version of normal. I’m not going to get the mommy, daddy, two kids, two dogs, and a white picket fence. My package is different, ever evolving, and unique.

I’m still grappling with being a mom of two. The last addition I need to my basket of shenanigans is a relationship I don’t feel confident about.

When I found out I was pregnant with my oldest son, Blaise, I was engaged to his father. Almost immediately, I called off the engagement. Even young and naive, I knew I could only handle one major life event. I stepped away from the relationship to focus on my pregnancy. At the end, I realized the relationship was toxic, and I’d made the right decision. I mourned the loss of my son’s family. I was devastated, but always confident in my choice.

With my baby, I’d left his father months before I got pregnant. We were talking, trying again even, when I ended up pregnant. It’s been a lot to process. This wasn’t the story I’d written for myself, but my baby boy is as perfect as his older brother. And, he was meant to be. Selfish behaviors, know-it-all attitudes, and a refusal to be considerate kept his dad and I apart. They will keep us apart, forever. But, we have to figure out the parenting part, come hell AND high waters.

I don’t want to build a faux family for the sake of avoiding the stereotypes. I also don’t want to romanticize a relationship that will never truly happen.

Family comes in a variety of forms, and we have to be confident in the family we are creating, even when it’s unorthodox.

Newborn and giving up.

6/22 I’m writing this with my newborn son on my shoulder. It’s been one week, two hours, and seventeen minutes of me being a mom of two. He’s perfect, and I’m faking normalcy.

7/27 My baby is now 6 weeks and 1 day. We’re side by side in the backseat of a car. We took a mini vacation to Memphis. It was challenging. It was an adventure. We’re in the last hour of the drive, he’s tired of the car seat, he wonders why I’m not taking him out of it, and I’m typing this with one hand while I hold his pacifier with the other.

But, he’s absolutely perfect. He’s happy and curious most of the time, but he screams his head off when he’s hungry. And, he expects his pacifier to be available 100% of the time. Doesn’t matter if he wants it. He wants it to be available. We have 6 pacifiers. He’s training me well. Again, I’m holding his pacifier in his mouth this moment.

I’m madly in love. I’m mother to 2 beautiful boys, 13 years apart, and almost identical twins. My heart is full. I can barely contain my happiness, even during 3A feedings and poop filled diapers. Life is good. I’m very blessed.

I can’t seem to wrap my mind around what’s happened in the last year. The break up. The pregnancy. The baby. Nothing was part of the plan. I give up.

And, I don’t give up in a negative way. I give up making decisions regarding love. I give up being sure of anything. Because my happiest moments were being single and open to whatever happened. I was free.

Right now, I don’t want to be a wife, or a fiancé, or a girlfriend. I just want to have a few dates, eventually. I just want a handful of compliments and a few conversations a week. It’s easy, and it lacks decisions.

I haven’t been spontaneous since 2004.

I am not spontaneous. Seriously, I’m not. I don’t absolutely hate surprises or spontaneity. They just don’t really fit in my life, and haven’t since 2004. Because I found out I was pregnant in January of 2005, and it’s been downhill since. 

I’m a mom, a daughter, a sister, all while having a full-time job, a business, this blog, and social and community responsibilities. I am busy. I feel like I say that all the time. 

I am juggling a lot of balls. As many as many others, I know. But, I’m just talking about me. 

So if we make plans, there’s a lot I have to do behind the scenes of that “yes”. I have to make sure my son is taken care of. I have to coordinate with someone else’s schedule, ask them nicely, and hope they say yes with no strings attached. I have to make sure he has everything he needs for that timeframe and any other timeframe it may impact. (If it’s a school night, did he get his homework done, have dinner, get his bath, brush his teeth, take his medicine, feed his fish, put everything away, get his schoolwork and backpack ready for the next day, pick out his clothes, pack his lunch, get his snack, say prayers, and get to bed at a reasonable hour. It’s not the responsibility of the person who agreed to help me to do ALL of that. He’s my son.) 

Can I leave after he goes to bed? When you’ve showcased yourself as single to your child his entire life, leaving him to spend a few hours “with some stranger” can be difficult to process…right before bedtime. 

I need to coordinate my work schedule. For me to have a late dinner and movie with you, I need to ensure I’m not going to be the closer at my retail job and miss any time with my son that evening. I need to go home and wrangle stuff, get things for both of us done, and ensure that I’m ready to see you. Plus I want to go ahead and have my shower, to keep from disrupting the house when I make it in. And because work attire and date attire are different, I have to put a lot of work into looking like I put in little effort. 

If I have to leave town for you or with you, I need to do all that times 1000.  Is my son staying with one of my parents or going to his dad’s for the weekend? Is my work schedule covered? Have I made any commitments to my friends, family, or social contacts that need to be changed? Is there anything I’m forgetting? Wait…who’s going to feed the fish?

There’s no room for spontaneity in this phase of my life. 

There’s also no room for missed plans or shitty excuses. If we make plans, and I do all of those things, you flaking in the 11th hour is unacceptable. It’s also inexcusable unless you’ve had some emergency situation or work thing that couldn’t be altered. 

And, it’s disrespectful. Because if my only responsibility in life was to sit still and wait for your attention, that’s funny to even type, it’s only courteous to follow through with what you have agreed too. It’s basic. It’s one of the things we were taught in grade school, at church, and at home. Honor your commitments. Respect other people’s time. Be a man or woman of your word. Integrity. Respect. Grown folks shit! 

Because, we are grown people. We know how to interact and engage with one another. We know how to do what’s right. Especially…ESPECIALLY, when you want to date me, sleep with me, and possibly give me your last name some day. 

And if you happen to screw this up, human nature and shit happens, apologize. Just apologize. Sincerely, apologize. Tell me the minute you know, try to lessen the impact, fix what you can, and apologize. Acknowledge the gazillion things I had to do to make myself available to you, the other people who were involved, and my hurt feelings. Own that you just messed up. Stand up like a grown up and accept responsibility, and NEVER let it happen again. 

I know emergency situations arise. I know, and this is separate from that. If you have an emergency or work thing out of left field, I get it. And if I get upset, I’m unreasonable. I would owe the apology. But only for the unforeseen, not the oops I forgot. 

I hope this provides some clarity to the man I went left on, the man I should have gone left on, and anyone else who’s immature shit isn’t recent enough to recognize.

I was good on my own. That’s the way it was. That’s the way it was.

I was speaking to a good friend of mine recently. I was telling her that I’m about to give up my rental, venture back to my mom’s, and grind super hard to purchase a home January 2018. Whew. 

“What are you looking for?” She asked. Immediately plugging her mortgage career, and willing to help along the way. Thanks doll, but I’m not ready for the HGTV experience quite yet. 

However, I’ll be looking for a two-story with a small yard and 2-3 bedrooms. Or, I might be looking for a single story with a pool. I don’t know for certain. I like mid century styling, though. Just something that’s good for me, and B, and probably a couple dogs and a fish. 

Pause. I’m not expecting there to be anyone else. 

Wow. 

I’m not sad about it. I’m not anxious. I’m not eager. I’m just planning for what I know. I’m just planning for my personal certainty. And, I’m totally at peace. 

If something changes, I’ll cross that bridge…probably when I’m already standing on it. 

“No mom, I’m still single.”

My mom casually offered her concerned opinion over my single status. Right after I commented on the success of a family members relationship, she mentioned how much she wanted me to find someone. Huh? Is this really happening? Et tu? 

I’m a-okay. Don’t be concerned. I’m alone, but not lonely. I’m busy, and I don’t know if I have the time to devote to a romantic relationship. Plus, I’m still loving the last guy. He loves me, too. But, we are hella flawed. 

Don’t get me wrong, I want love, romance, commitment, and all the blah blah blah. I want white, no ivory, weddings, picket fences, and rocking chairs. Seriously, I do. But, I can’t focus all my attention on that. I’d go crazy. Instead, I need to build my empire, raise my son, and find and maintain my happiness.

Eventually, everything else will fall into place.