About Me

 

I am a wife of 34 years to my long-time love Michael, 

a mom to 5 mostly adult children and a Nana to 7 awesome grandkids! (This pic is kind of old, lol).

2020 was the year that almost undid me. Though like everyone else, I was full of optimism going into 2020. 

This was me, January 9 of this year. I was fresh off an awesome Christmas vacation in Aruba. My batteries were freshly recharged, and I was looking forward to another successful year leading the Human Resources team at a company I loved. 

What a difference a few months makes… 

From the pandemic, to two major health crisis in 4 months, 

a host of family challenges; not the least of which involves our severely mentally ill son who despite our desperate pleas to the mental health hospital where he asked to be taken to keep him from hurting anyone, he was released too early and is now facing capital murder charges. Yes, let that one sink in for a moment. 

You can read about it on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AMothersJourneyMentalHealthcareReform

Then, George Floyd’s death happened. The images of his last breath being forced from his tortured body and the sounds of his desperate cries for his dead mother; threatened to be the final blow to my already weakened sanity. 

During this time, it became increasingly impossible to shake concerns for my own 6-foot, dark skinned son who was sitting in the same jail where his life had previously been threatened by white officers. And Mikese is only one of my sons. I have other sons, and grandsons, and brothers, and nephews, and uncles, and cousins, and friends, and, and, and… who were also always on my mind. 

It didn’t help that everywhere I looked, I kept seeing the image of George Floyd’s life being taken in such a cruel and callous way. It filled me with such a sense of hopelessness because in my heart I knew there were no versions of “The Talk” that prepared black families for what they saw. There were no words to describe the pain I felt as a black mom watching yet another black mother’s son’s life being taken. There were no words to describe the creeping numbness that began expanding throughout my being. 

Then, in quick succession, more names; Ahmad Aubrey, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McCain. Names and faces now added to the long list of other names and faces black families keep a running tally of and pray that no familiar names get added to.  All of this continued to strip away at the already thin layers of my sanity.  

I found myself feeling conflicted about the rally cry, Black Lives Matter, because it’s both true and demoralizing. The truth should be obvious so it’s demoralizing after all of these years, no matter how hard we work; no matter how many ways we excel or achieve; no matter what we do; no matter how far it seems we have come; at the heart of it all, we still have to fight for such a basic statement; that our lives, as Black people, matter. 

The racial, political and social unrest that followed, tapped into my own suppressed anxieties as a black woman, wife, mother, nana, sister and friend. I found myself distraught, desperate and for the first time in my life, depressed. 

When I started waking up crying (who does that?), I knew. When I couldn’t concentrate or focus on even simple things; I knew.  When the things I used to enjoy doing like gardening, no longer brought me joy; I knew. When my standard response to the question of “How you doing?” became, “I’m still standing”; I knew.  

By the time I posted this on Facebook, I knew. I knew my spirit had gone into hiding. 

I knew somewhere, buried in all the chaos, shrouded by doubt, obscured by uncertainty, concealed by pain and suffering and smothered in fear and anxiety; was my withered and depleted spirit. I knew I had to make some changes.

So, I recently retired from a position I loved, as the Chief People Officer in a multimillion-dollar company, leading a team I loved 

and now I’m on a quest to reclaim my spirit.  

I plan to find daily practices to help me release, refresh, renew and revive my spirit. I hope you start your day with me and one of my current daily practices, my #cupofmood (Pic)at (IG, FB, YT, Blog).  

Join me as I work through and release my own age biases and learn to fully embrace my perfectly imperfect 53-year-old self.  (Yes, I put it out there for the world to see!) 

Check me out as I share my gray hair journey since I’ve FINALLY decided to say, “To hell with the dye, I’ve earned EVERY ONE of these gray hairs!” 

Hang out with my husband and me as we have our Date Days (as retirees we get the whole day, not just nights anymore!) when we typically enjoy one our favorite past times; checking out  garage sales, flea markets, antiques and thrift stores! 

And now, since we’ve been dabbling in outdoor dining again; I’ll share some of the craft cocktails I love  to try at restaurants we explore; like this bubbling one I recently had @Ocean Prime.

Explore with me as we try to re-engage with our love of Caribbean travel in this new COVID world . In fact, you’ll see, Christmas in the Caribbean, is one our favorite travel traditions. 

Outside of Christmas, I pretty much find a reason to go to the beach any time I can! People outside of Florida don’t often realize how different Florida beaches are but they are and one of  my Bucket List items is to explore every Florida beach and as many international beaches as possible ! In an average, non-Covid year, I hit at least a dozen beaches, both domestically and internationally! I have my own unique beach rating scale, I’ll share, as I share my love of the beach!

Sometimes you may find me playing with or talking to my awesome kids or grandkids; other times cooking (Sunday dinner is my favorite!), working out, (Aqua Aerobics is my new thing!) or gardening (as of the time of this writing, I first literally have to reclaim my garden too).  

I’ll share with you the products I’m trying since I completely subscribe to retail therapy! (Hey,  just like love is love, therapy is therapy! 😉)

My intention is to create a social media presence that consists of this blog and other social media platforms (IG, FB, YT, Blog), to shares my journey and the tools I’m using to reclaim my spirit. 

I hope you join me on this journey and share your journey with me too. Let me know what you’re doing, what’s working for you and share your tips and secrets so we can all grow together.  Let’s build a place where together, we can reclaim our spirit!