Snooze Button

Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare. Proverbs 20:13

I have a serious problem with hitting the snooze button. Not just once. I'm talking three, four times, some mornings. Then, I jump up and rush around (halfway in the dark, so as to not wake the 'sleeping giant' by my side) getting myself together, shaking my head and scolding the pillow-squeezing teenager inside of me for doing it "yet again".

I thought I had the perfect plan in my mind: set the clock ahead 15 minutes, which would motivate me to get up and start my day with plenty of time to spare, making for a supposedly smooth start to my day. The only problem is that even in my drunken cloud of REM slumber, my mind STILL knows that the clock is 15 minutes fast, and thus calculates what time it actually is, summons my arm to lift and hit the snooze button (knocking the remote off the nightstand in the process) and beckons me to turn over, until the alarm sounds again, and I repeat the ritual over and over. (shaking my head) See? Told you I had a problem.

To make matters worse, my morning ritual of calling my mother during the drive to work further condemns me to shame. By this time, my mother has already been up for an hour and a half, has prayed and meditated on her scripture for the day, taken her shower, vitamins, scrambled an egg, drank a cup of coffee and seen my father off to work. It is just a matter of moments, seconds actually, before she looks at the clock on her stove and lovingly asks me the rhetorical question, "My goodness, aren't you going to be late?"

Trust me, I am in no way trying to preach to ANYBODY but MYSELF, but I really had to look at this "getting up early" thing. There must be something to it, right? Particularly as it relates to women, and specifically as it relates to me, 'Sista Snooze Button'. Look at the Proverbs 31 woman; The bible says she gets up long before anybody in her household (YIKES), and prays over them in the wee hours of early morning. And then there's the saying, "The early bird gets the worm"....while it would be nice to assume that birds have nuclear families, we know it's the MAMA who brings that worm back to the nest before the crack of dawn.

I know better. And when we KNOW better, we are to DO better. I NEED to do better. I want to enjoy my mornings. I want to sip some coffee in my robe. I want to pray over my family, read the next chapter in that book I've been meaning to finish for 4 weeks. I want to write another post, another poem, another story. I want some quiet time to myself, without hearing the real life Family Guy episode: "mom.....mom........mommy.......mommy.......mama........mama........ma.......ma.......mom.." How many times have we as women claimed that there were just "not enough hours in the day" to accomplish all that we have to do? I say it all the time. And now, I know better than that too. There ARE enough hours. I simply haven't been awake to use them.

Soooooo, I've decided to do better, to take a step towards something productive, with the hopes of setting a new tone to my mornings: Note to self: Set the alarm one hour earlier. (well now, let's be reasonable..shall we say 30 minutes instead?) and DO NOT hit snooze (more than once...I am human, yes?)

Well, you gotta start somewhere. Baby Steps. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes. And don't sleep (snooze), I CAN do this.

Reconnect with the Dream

Spend the day with your family, watch King coverage and speeches, attend services, volunteer your time and efforts, but in some way reconnect with the dream; and then do something to bring you closer to yours. Enjoy the day. Thank you Dr. King.

Return of the Sultry

She was the first one to teach me that a big forehead and full, red lips could be sexy. I pulled my bangs back and brushed my hair up into a simple ponytail, smoothed my mother's Revlon Rum Raisin over my lips, and gazed in the mirror. It was....beautiful. I, an adolescent, felt sexy, and from that point on I redefined the feature that others said was big enough to "fry an egg on." If she could be the shiznit with a big forehead and be called beautiful, then so could I.

Understated yet Unique. Unpredictable, yet consistent, Sade has ALWAYS been my idol. High yellow with an almost awkward style that merged demure with edge, Sade captivated me with a sound so original, and a style to match. Since the debut of "Diamond Life" in 1994, every song she put out spoke to me. I remember sitting so still, barely breathing, not wanting to miss a single syllable she sang. I would rewind the cassette and play it back, absorbing every lyric, letting them create a picture in my mind of the kind of love that was "...taller than the Empire State, ...wider than Victoria Lake". Damn, she sang a good game, and convinced a 12 year-old, west side Detroit girl that it really was a crime that not only did still wanted this dude, but she wanted him to want her too.

After watching her newest video, following a decade on hiatus, there is no doubt in my mind that the songtress is back.

With an U.S. album release date of February 9, 2010, "Soldier of Love" so far proves to be classic Sade through its moody title cut single; sultry and rugged, with her signature dual harmonies and rich alto tone floating over solid, tribal rhythms. Sade has consistently fused intricate jazz melodies with simple choruses and complex verses. The result? Classic, good music. And the video? From the sequined jumpsuit, to the wonder woman-style lasso, to the men stepping cadence before her commanding stature...I have no words. She took her time, did it her way, and returned to the scene, pressing the resume button and continuing her reign as the Queen of Sultry. She is and forever will be iconic, genius, and simply showstopping. Never pretentious, forever authentic, she is Sade. Welcome back lady....although for me, you never left.

Pink Slip

I still don't know why they call it a pink slip. I mean, they're never printed on pink paper, as is suggested by the name. At least then it would've had somewhat of an aesthetic appeal....something pleasant to anticipate opening. But then maybe that would have been worse. And now that I think about it, overdue bills and past due notices are often identified by the rose-colored paper peeping out of the envelope address window. Nevertheless, mine came on plain white linen cardstock. And it came yesterday.

This was my journal entry nearly 7 months ago, making it official that my 14-year teaching career with Detroit Public Schools was coming to an end. How I wanted to cry my eyes out, to scream, "What in the....??? Are you CRAZY? You're letting ME go?" But ironically, I had no tears to shed, not right then. When I looked at my situation honestly, I'd been feeling restless for a few years, hoping that stepping into public school administration might be the answer, only to find that 3 years later, I was even more disillusioned...and burned the hell out. So, after a long sigh and a couple glasses of Riesling, I decided to smile, and move in a direction that I'd never been before.

Fast forward 7 months.......I have relocated South, taken a $17,000 pay cut, and created a new blog, with which I have struggled to post my first entry. First, I feared I wouldn't have anything to say that anyone would want to read. Then I feared I wouldn't be able to sustain this creative momentum I've felt since carrying my last box of belongings out of the school in Detroit. And then, thanks to a friend, I watched the following clip....and I began to rest in the confirmation that I am EXACTLY where I am supposed to be.



Setting my personal pauses about the video aside, I definitely could relate its message to what has happened in my life over the past year. You see, God has a remarkable way of leaving us no choice in the matter when it comes to doing what is destined in His will for us. We just have to rest in knowing that everything is in Divine Order. So now, as I conclude my first entry on what I hope will be a springboard to abundant, fearless living, I invite you to take this journey with me, to realize your passions, to put one foot in front of the other, and whatever it is, MAKE IT HAPPEN. We can do this.

....And now if you'll excuse me, my glass of lemonade is waiting.....pink lemonade that is.