Life is Grand

The past few weeks have been phenomenal for me. While there have been the normal bumps along the road, such as drama and stress, all in all things have made an upswing. I have cleared my chest and my conscious of things i have been carrying around...holding them inside trying to bear the burden myself so as not to burden those I care about. But they are released, back to the giver they go and now I am finally free. I sleep well at night, and have realized the error of my ways in some aspects of life. My only mission now is to make amends and to fully realize the person that I am.

I am content...vacation is relaxing, the kids are healthy, love is good and friends are plenty! I have had the opportunity to cross some things of my bucket list and have been inundated with opportunities that will allow me to grow, succeed and prosper. I am exercising my creativity in a myriad of ways and I am liberated beyond belief...my "I Don't Give A Fuck" attitude is being full actualized and embraced. I laugh at some of the people I am forced to encounter on a regular basis...because they live behind this facade, pretending to be something they are not for fear of what may become. Too bad for them!!!!!

I am a force to be reckoned with...I have left plenty of Men and Women in my wake, hopefully they had their life preservers because I live under the auspice of "Sink or Swim". I am still shattering the preconceived notions of some and the rubber exteriors they present to world. Hindsight might be 20/20 but I've found something even better...X-ray vision and YES! I can see right through your asses (smile). The things people think I care about are actually the ones furthest from my mind...I find a sense of joy and pleasure about living life off the beaten path. The journey may be more difficult, but the reward is more fulfilling!

If you fall...

I just watched the movie "Precious" for the first time...something I have been putting off for months because I prefer to read the book a movie is based on before seeing the movie. But in the busy-ness of life I just haven't gotten around to it. Anyway, God truly does do things for a reason, because for whatever reason I decided to watch it tonight. It TRULY made me realize that my trials and tribulations aren't as bad as I thought they were this morning. Despite everything my life is nothing like what Claireece had to endure. I CAN read & write...I HAVE a mother who loves me...I AM educated...I HAVE two beautiful children who are happy and healthy...I HAVE a job...I HAVE people who genuinely care about me and my well being...I AM healthy...I HAVE a father who loves me... So in the grand scheme of things I could be a lot worse off than the state that I am in. In all actuality, this movie also makes me realize that with all that she endured, Claireece was still able to push on. She went to school, continued to learn, raised her kids, and made a life for herself despite her molestation and HIV status. I know there are people in the world who are worse off than I am, and yet they persevere and live happy lives. It makes me think of one of my favorite quotes by Les Brown "If you fall, fall on your back. If you can look up then you can get up!"

This Can't Be Life...

I am struck by the words of the Jay-Z(et. al.) song "This Can't Be Life". How often do we sit down and really evaluate our lives? Well today I've had the opportunity to really evaluate mine, and I am quite disappointed to say things are not how I would have planned, imagined or dreamed they'd be on the verge of my 32ND birthday. I am a Libra, an idealist...I believe in love, white picket fences and happily ever after. Or at least I did before today....now I am not sure what to believe anymore. I always wanted a relationship, who doesn't want to connect with someone of like mind, goals, morals and dreams...nobody WANTS to be alone. Sadly I can say I've never had that. The 4 men I've ever devoted my heart to, have never been able to give me their hearts in a like manner. Some have given me more than others, but none have given me all. In each case, there was always me and someone else. The first couldn't give me his heart because I wouldn't give him my body, so he chose to flaunt his sexual conquests in my face. The second I actually gave my body too, but I guess it wasn't enough because he sought pleasure from another and ultimately had two kids with her. The third didn't want anyone to know about "us", and me being naive and stupid went along with the scheme...not realizing until it was too late that he needed "us" to be a secret so that his others wouldn't find out. And even after most found out or surmised our relationship I was still never his "girlfriend" until I was on my way out the door. The fourth started as something I never expected to last. I fully intended him to be a temporary fling to bide my time during a hiatus from number 3...fortunately or unfortunately it turned into way more. As a result, here I sit 12 years and 4 kids later wondering how my life turned into this and still no closer to having his heart the same way he has mine. Of the 4 I have to say that number 2 and 4 mean/meant the most to me. And it is funny because they remind me so much of each other. I will eternally love number 4 because of the two little miracles he gave me, but I think we will never be more than parents to the same children. And that saddens me...because like I said I believe in happily ever after! I want my kids to wake up daily with both parents present in the household and I hate being in the statistic of African-American women who will never marry or that they are in a statistic of being born to a single parent. IT HURTS LIKE HELL, and my heart has broken into a million pieces knowing I brought them into this situation and can't fix or undo it. And so I sit here in the dark with the words of Jay-Z flowing through my head..."This can't be life, this can't be love. This can't be right, there's gotta be more, this can't be us!"

Dear 2009

Dear 2009,

As our time together draws near a close I just wanted to take some time to reflect on our time together...

Thank you for helping us celebrate my daughter's first year of life, she has grown and changed so much since your commencement.

Thank you for seeing my son through the 1st half of Pre-K, he is getting smarter everyday!

Thank you for recession, because even though lots of people have lost their jobs, it has made me appreciate mine even more!

Thank you for growth, I have finally learned that I am able to let go of things I previously thought I'd never be able to survive without!

Thank you showing me another year of life, 30 was good, but 31 will be even better!

Thank you for tribulations, because they truly brought me understand and belief in the POWER of PRAYER!

Thank you for family (near and far, real and work) who listen, love and keep me grounded!

Thank you for the simple things in life, like spending time with my children, that help me unwind and let go of my adult "problems" for the wonders of childhood.

Thank you for the GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY! While it may not have been easy at the time, looking back it has enriched my life in ways unimagined. So Thank you 2009, and while I hate to see you go our time together has been well spent. I look forward to my time with 2010 now!!!

Mieshay