Happy Birthday, John!

Grateful does not fully describe how I feel about turning 41. I promise y'all, time is not waiting on any of us. It literally seems like I turned 21 yesterday. As I age, I am becoming clearer about my life purposes and LESS tolerant of BS. I recall being told by a friend about 10 years ago that I don't deal with foolishness. At the time, her man was running her ragged, and her health was suffering. In some strange way, she believed there was a lesson to be learned from experiencing emotional distress. I love her dearly, but that is the biggest crock of [insert expletive] that I've EVER HEARD.

Here's a little self-disclosure: I used to be a complete sucker. A punk. A softie. I was bullied mercilessly throughout middle and high school. My mother, bless her heart, raised me to be courteous and empathetic. What she didn't tell me is that many of my peers would abandon their home training (for various reasons) and become monsters. People would say the meanest [insert expletive] to me...and I would say nothing back.

Then something happened. It was during my junior year. I stopped giving [insert expletive] about how I was perceived and found MY VOICE. Indeed, my silence was not serving me well. I went on to curse a few people out and respond to nearly EVERY insult. What I feared would happen never did; no one EVER touched me. Nothing but empty threats. I definitely would have spared myself a lot of agony had I spoken up for myself sooner.

Fast-forward to today. I am a very forgiving, nurturing, empathetic, compassionate person. Still, I do NOT accommodate disrespect well. At all. Correction: I do NOT accommodate PATTERNS of disrespect well. I'm not one to lay hands upon anyone, but my tongue is sharp. Really SHARP. When it becomes evident that my petition for civility is falling on deaf ears, I up the ante and go for the jugular. Rarely do I miss. I'm working on it. See, when I do bark on someone, God deals with me by not allowing me to rest; my sleep pattern goes out the window until I apologize (even when I was only defending  myself). It's not fair, but God holds me to a higher standard. That's just the way it is.

I am so excited about the direction my life is going in. Musically, I've connected with one of my favorite artists and may have a few songs recorded this year. Of course, I'm still designing shirts. What I'ma hit y'all with next is MAJOR.

In closing, I want to encourage anyone who follows my blog to forgive often, cry when needed, seek the counsel of trusted individuals, apologize when you are wrong, and love those who hurt/challenge you the most. Still, protect your heart, mind, and soul...don't take NO [insert expletive]. 😙