The Aloe Vera plant these days is popular and commercially well-known.
When I was around fourteen, the plant was not as widespread by mainstream and heard of by everyone.
My mother and I used to purchase Aloe from the Nursery many years ago.
The plant is, of course, a natural healing remedy- great for burns, cuts and scars. The juice of the plant is also good for providing health in maintaining overall soothing and integrity of the skin.
There were a host of activities I was involved in from childhood on up.
At about seven or eight years of age I knew how to play quite a few card games including Bid Whist (that some used to call Big Wisk), Five Hundred Rummy.
Later, it was spades and so on. My mother taught me early.
I remember a time our cousins came up from down south Virginia to spend a week or two with us in New York.
My grandmother’s niece was disappointed that I taught my older thirteen-year-old cousin who was her son how to play Whist and he loved the card came.
He had never learned to play because his mother was trying to shelter him. It was her way of trying to raise her boy in a strict religious fashion.
I enjoyed the games my mother and I used to play together and with others when we had get-togethers.
Whether it was Dominoes, Backgammon, Monopoly, The Game of Life, Upwards, Boggle, Clue and the rest of pastimes that kept us pleasantly occupied we had a lot of engaging fun!
People will smile in one another’s faces then talk about each other like dogs then call one another friends, or they are supposed to be friends.
I have seen and watched this among many, including family members, throughout my life.
As one naturally a loner who never looked for or depended upon friendships since I was never crazy about people in general, if or when people talked about me it did not matter.
People talk about people and tell lies about people every day- people they do not even personally know.
Either they assume things, make up things, or hear things through others (the grapevine) that may be unreliable yet they may want to believe or enjoy the nosy talk as it is within some people’s nature to do so.
It is fantastic to be aware but I never went around calling everyone who sometimes hung around or kept company a friend.
Instead, I called them associates.
Yes, everybody talks in one way or another at some time about someone or something, but not everyone is a gossip, rumor spreader, or slanderer out to spread harm.
Some merely have discussions while others are spiteful, deceitful and/or eager to hear or gather dirt.
I am an individual who does not need to talk behind one’s back. Whatever I do have to say when anyone is not around, I will tell one my words straight to their face.
Why be bothered with someone who one does not like or appreciate if one does not have to?
Some stick around others for the ulterior motives they may have such as to use them etc….
I did not get involved in nonsense/bullshit of that nature. Though I have seen plenty of it go on.
There is nothing wrong in instances when people come to tell you what someone said, spoke about, or heard about you. A lot of it is done in good faith with good intentions and one can learn and evaluate life situations as they come up in the world by being kept alert/informed, avoiding certain mistakes, preventing unfavorable situations, so on, and vice-versa.
But what is the point of those who claim to be friends when all they really do is dog one another out in all type of circumstances?
They are not really friends- genuine friends are not intentionally cold, hurtful, or malicious toward one another.
I stopped officially celebrating my birthday at twelve years of age, though, I still acknowledge the anniversary day of my birth.
I accept greetings and expressions of generosity from those who count or who kindly show their regard.
Yesterday I received a few cards and gifts from genuine people as I am particular in association.
I do not bother myself with or share any time over the phone or in person with just anyone.
I only deal with authentic people of substance.
In two more years, I will be 50- the big five-o!
Where did time go? I still have memories of when I was a kid and teen. Oh, how time can fly within the blink of an eye.
Even though years may seem long and some of us may live a long time here on earth- life here really is short.
I have a strong life force, a strong purpose.
God has kept me on this earth for a reason despite ominous events and envious people in the past who tried to alter my life (which is a battle many of us tackle when it comes to good versus evil in this universe).
Those fools were just a bunch of dust who were inevitably blown in the wind.
God has his angels continuously watching over and protecting me.
Everyone should love the skin their in because I know I genuinely do!
I love my brown skin- I always have.
I do not know why we who are of African ancestry are called black people- there is no such thing as a natural black skinned person- we are the original “brown colored” people.
My family come in an array of different shades from dark brown, medium brown, light brown, tan, to high yellow.
Color has never been an issue where I come from.
If anything, our color was a beautiful symbol of our African American, Native American and European (English from England) multicultural heritage and diversity.
Brown skin is beautiful.
When I look into the mirror, I am one of the most beautiful things that I have ever seen.
I have no desire to relive events in life but to go back in time to a period when living was much simpler.
I am sure many have those nostalgic memories of climatic events that brought on the ecstasy of pure happiness and joy.
We are reminded in those wholesome classic black and white television shows like Lassie, Leave It to Beaver and so on.
That good old-fashioned fun-loving carefree innocence of life!
Aside from the enchanting/lovely, beaded curtains that adorned our homes and the household of others I loved the beads that adorned my hair back in the day.
My mother was an exceptional hairstylist- far before she experimented at a school for professional beauticians. She had a natural talent.
My mother always kept my hair clean, healthy, and looking nice.
My hair was kept long as a child.
From time to time My mother would corn-braid my hair in fancy styles while sometimes decorating five sets of clear-colored beads mixed with a solid color to each lock, securing the ends/tips of my braids with aluminum foil so the beads would not ever slip out.
I loved the sounds the beads made when they hit up against one another just like the ones that hung up in our home did.
As a child, after disconnecting the makeshift basket I created to transport my furry friend around with me for a day- I would hold Brandie while she was still small inside the comfort of my left arm while I steered the handlebars to my bike with my right arm on other days.
Brandie loved to run in the street beside me while I rode my bike. I had her on her leash, grasping the head of the strap against the grip of the left handlebar to my bike.
Brandie also loved to run beside me in the street while I rolled on my roller-skates. I loved the way she pulled me as I held onto her leash supervising every moment to make sure the both of us never got hit by any car within our neighborhood block.
As an adult-years later- I took Brandie to the park without her leash. She was a well- behaved dog familiar within the area and did not need to be restrained. I let her walk and run around free- she never bothered anybody- people liked and loved Brandie.
I stopped off at the park to take a quick breeze upon a swing.
Brandie followed me inside the playground stood a few seconds to watch me then she must have said to herself “This may take a few minutes. Let me chill” because she sat down at a distance to patiently wait.
Two female youngsters entered the section of the playground we were in while I swung and realized my dog was no threat as they also hopped upon the swings.
One of the girls said to the other, “I want a dog just like that- who will sit and wait for me”.
I awoke bright and early, still excited over having adopted a brand new seven to eight-week-old puppy from North Shore Animal League during the summer of 1986.
The sun shined, the air was crisp, the day clear and I wanted to go bike riding.
Yet, I did not want to go alone.
I wanted the company of my new furry friend-just me and her, no one else for that moment in time.
I was the type of child who often played with other neighborhood kids but took out time to enjoy being alone when I preferred to.
There was one problem surrounding this event.
I needed a basket that I did not have to place Brandie in while I freely rode her on my bike.
So, I creatively made one.
I went to find a crate that I fastened to the handlebars of my bike with rope then securely placed Brandie inside.
A neighborhood guy laughed at the situation when he saw me in action because he thought the effort and determination was cute. My mother had informed this information to me about the neighbor’s reaction later
Off I went through the streets of my neighborhood steering out of the way when cars drove up from behind and up ahead.
Brandie enjoyed her first bike ride in the comforts of the crate with the warm summer breeze enhancing her mood.
I will never forget that wonderful day of bonding sweetly with my baby.
My mother wasted no time! She got me baptized/christened when I was four months old.
My mother herself, as a young church attendant, made the urgent decision to get baptized at ten years of age.
Baptism does not save one, though, it is a wonderful expression of our faith and devotion.
There are people who believe that infant christening/baptism is an insignificant or irrelevant event because the child has no knowledge yet of what is taking place or the faculty to decide whether to accept Jesus Christ.
People have the right to think or believe what they want. However, I strongly disagree with this mode of thought, and I do not care what anyone else has to say about the matter.
There are fully grown people who partake in adult baptism with all their faculties in place, developed to ponder, select, choose, and determine- and their act of holy anointment will make no difference if their heart, mind, and soul are not lined up to what it means to demonstrate the outward representation of faith and the commitment to follow God’s path.
So, whether a baby is not able to make the conscious profession of a belief in the crucified savior who was buried then resurrected for everyone’s benefit to have eternal life- their holy christening/baptism is no less significant at all.
It is for some, as I know for a fact, an act of belief on the parent’s part, to have their child blessed by God so that he may also have his hand on that child to supernaturally guide and lead them on the correct road to him.
It is the parent’s beautiful expression of offering and celebrating their child or children into the hands and family of God himself.
I remember a great dream I had years ago.
In the dream, I lived in a spacious home that was shared with relatives of mine that I had not met yet in the awake state.
The home had so much room and was built off in a section way where my relatives and I would only run into each other occasionally or not so often inside the large-sized kitchen we also shared.
We all got along and went about our business in parts of the house that we resided and occupied.
The only person I told this dream to was my mother after I had it.
So, it was coincidental or suspicious when someone mentioned in a comment on one of my blog posts (Symptoms of Voodoo Black Magic by Mony Singh) years after I had the dream that they lived in a big house with the same or similar circumstances. I do not recall every detail within the person’s comment (and there are far too many comments to search through to look for it).
However, it was too close.
Of course, I do know that whatever we can think can happen or exist. And that whatever we may experience, someone else somewhere around the world will or may experience it too.
It is not that my dream and her claim of reality seemed impossible, it was just uncanny of her to mention the instance.
On Christmas morning, after opening presents, I washed and got dressed to accompany my mother to a department store.
She went to purchase some accessories for the home.
Along the way in one of the aisles I came across a pink colored toy Cadillac that could entirely sit barbie dolls inside the two front seats.
Even though I had already received Christmas presents at home my mother kindly bought me the car to take home to play with along with my other toys when I asked If I could get the item.
My mother was so kind and sweet to me.
A few years before, during the late 1970’s around Christmas, my mother’s childhood friend from high school took me to FAO Schwarz toy store located in Manhattan, New York.
There, we stood outside with a crowd of onlookers, gazing through the window of FAO Schwarz, admiring the beauty of the lit-up Christmas village toy community that had a running trainset and/or Santa Claus riding amid the town.
It was a gorgeously cute showcase displayed for the attraction.
I remember as a kid when I attended the day care center down the street on a corner from the block where I lived.
It was a 3k and pre-k early learning center -“the first step towards college and career readiness”- their logo reads- that is still in operation today at the same location.
During the late 70’s or early 80’s, they scheduled a school trip for us young students to explore. Our parents were welcome to come if they desired.
My mother attentively came along.
A school bus picked us up directly in front of the Charles Drew Day Care Learning Center.
We were all headed to the Pumpkin Patch!
There was a large farm field of pumpkins that were laid out all for us children to choose from. Our very own to take back home.
I ran my little body out into the open land, not afraid to journey independently to hunt.
I will never forget that day. It was exciting, educational, inspiring- and mommy was right there beside me for the experience.
I picked out a cute, perfect little pumpkin that was just right for me.
When the time came one day at home, because I did not cut into my adored pumpkin right away, my mother guided me as I carved open the head of the pumpkin to take out the pulp, fibrous strands, and seeds. My mom instructed me on how we did it together.
Afterwards, I carved two eyes, a nose, and a mouth into my pumpkin, then placed the stem back over the pumpkin as a hat.
My pumpkin lasted for a long time, from the beginning to the time it was finally ready to be thrown away.
The first time I remember riding on a boat I was very young, about seven or eight years of age.
It was on the Manhattan Circle-Liner I rode with a group of family members.
They had come up to visit from Virginia. They wanted to tour around the New York City waters to see the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State building, and other attractions.
During childhood I also visited Hershey Park in Hershey, Pennsylvania where I rode numerous water-rides all day. The fun I had! I loved water-rides back then.
I have been on boats a few times as an adult. There is no excitement to it unless I feel myself moving on the vessel.
At the age of sixteen I was bored as can be down inside the Staten Island Ferry as I rode with friends while we hung out in Manhattan on Independence Day.
My friends at the time and I were chaperoned by an adult.
We all came to see the fireworks that year in the early nineties. We walked the streets of Manhattan enjoying ourselves until one or two in the morning.
It was not until I came up to the top outside of the Staten Island Ferry that I was able to feel the boat as it swiftly moved upon the waters.
We rode the Ferry just for entertainment that night. Years later, the guy who chaperoned us (a longtime family friend) took me into Staten Island by driving on the Verrazano Bridge when I was in my early twenties.
There was a CruiseShip planned for a family reunion years ago, I did not attend that gathering, though.
Some times when people think about donating or volunteering, they assume they may have to give up large portions of valuable items or time of themselves.
This notion is simply not at all true.
There are people who do not really want to give away anything but do it because they think God will punish them or look down on them if they do not share with the less fortunate or those in need.
The truth is, we all cannot please or gain points with the Lord on account of good works. He showers us purely through his love, grace, and mercy. However, when we do act purely within accordance to goodwill from our hearts God is delighted and he blesses us even more for our kindness.
Some people put on an air in front of others just to gain approval or praise by helping out the poor, needy, disadvantaged, or ones who are just temporarily/periodically going through a hard time. For them, it is all about getting recognition.
There are even people who when they do volunteer or donate, they are not very polite, courteous, or decent about their efforts and within their ventures.
Some individuals donate articles of clothing or items of use that may be in very poor, raggedy or undesirable condition and that is not suitable or hygienic.
Nevertheless, these people have the idea or mentality that people who are beggars cannot be choosers or that people in desperate need should feel lucky enough to get what they can due to their predicament.
People can be both cruel and judgmental towards others but if it was them within this particular unfortunate situation, they would not desire to receive someone else’s neglected or badly worn-out hand-me-downs or patronizing, condescending attitude.
When any of us are inspired to give the motive or intention should not be out of a feeling of torture or obligation. One’s main aim and purpose should come from a place of honesty, sincerity, and peace.
A true feeling of, humanity, compassion or empathy for what someone else may be going through that incites us to help.
If one decides to donate money it does not have to be a humongous amount. It can be fifty-cents, a dollar, five dollars, or ten dollars. It is the thought that really counts.
If one decides to donate clothing, toys or other articles of benefit, at least have them all cleaned and in a decent and suitable condition for someone else to appreciate and enjoy. To be generous and take kindness a little bit further, buy or share an item that is brand new or that has never been in use before.
If one decides to give of their time for some volunteering event, spend as short or as long a time within doing so as tolerated or permitted just volunteer and give of yourself amiably and with consideration.
During times when I give (or have gave), it is because I have been blessed by God and it is only right and fair to sympathize and to show the Lord how thankful I am by aiding to another. Also, because it comes from my heart or sense of humanity in specific circumstances.
I have lost money in the street before within the distant past; however, I did not get upset about it. I said to myself that it probably happened for a reason. Someone would have come across that money who may have needed it more than I did because I was not lacking for anything. Even if I was, God definitely would have provided by eventually reimbursing the money back to me.
So, whatever we do within our unstinting, self-sacrificing, unselfish, free-handed behavior- do it authentically and without expecting anything in return. When you do, it brings such a warm, uplifting, beautiful feeling to the heart and to the senses.
It also brings joy to the Lord to see his children responding to one another in love, care and thoughtfulness.
I noticed since early childhood the favor over my mother and I, and the manner in which God took great care of my family.
The Lord watched over us solicitously, his eyes vigilant to never waver, his hands fixed firmly on every situation. Even when I did not think or believe he was looking out or holding our circumstances in place.
We mattered to God. And, we still do.
I have been so very fortunate by his mercy and grace, covered by what seemed like an extra hedge of protection from others and the principalities of this evil world, and beyond.
When I look back, I see all that I avoided and escaped because of the wisdom and discernment granted upon me from the Lord. The comfort and peace I experienced in the midst of trials that made people of the world marvel at me in disappointment and wonder.
Enemies or adversaries that attempted to destroy me were defeated.
Even so-called believers who professed to be Christians The Lord had warned and protected me against, wholeheartedly coming to my rescue to head me out into safety.
God is definitely my refuge and strength, an essential help in times of trouble as well as in times of order.
It was cloudy and damp when I first went out yesterday. Then eventually, it began to rain later on though the temperature was kind of nice, it wasn’t cold, felt almost like spring from the layers of clothing I had on-even with snow still occupying the ground from the last snowfall we had.
When I arrived home, I put away my groceries from the shopping I had did and prepared me something to eat.
First, I made my aunt tuna fish. It was a request she made along with some crackers. She had spotted the items the moment she noticed them stacked up inside the bag. I had asked her to help me carry up some of the groceries once I made it home.
Afterward, I ate a delicious plate of onion rings. I had not eaten anything all day.
It continued to rain on through the late night into the wee hours of the morning and I slept calmly to the sounds of the drops hitting against my window pane.
I had always considered my mother and my deceased dog “Brandie” of seventeen years to have been two of my very best friends here on the entire planet.
There is another friend I have come to know as a best friend. One who sticks closer to me than any other ever could or would. I had known him for years, ever since I was a child, but did not know or realize the depth of the relationship that had developed between us.
While I had often misinterpreted and misunderstand this individual and his character he ultimately interpreted and understood me, and was always very patient and compassionate toward me when I did not even recognize it.
This individual gave me my space to discover, learn and to grow through each of my circumstances and situations. Though he gave me room to figure out things, he was always near within reach, never to leave me out from his presence.
Now that my eyes are open to see clearer, my mind is receptive to the fact that the friend I once thought of as indifferent outside of me, was actually the constant companion who lived ever so benevolently inside of me.
This friend’s name is Jesus and he literally lives inside of me and he is not going away because he promised not to. And, this friend of mine, unlike others, does not tell any lies. So, if he makes any type of statement, I can definitely rely on whatever claim is made by him.
Jesus is a very good friend of mine who loves me more than my mother or dog, or anyone else is capable of loving and caring for me, and that is phenomenal.
He is there for me at any moment of the day when I need or want to talk. There is never a time when he is unavailable or not in the mood to hear or listen to my voice and concerns.
He carries me when I am unable to walk and he holds me up when feel like I am going to fall. He knows me better than I know myself and he knows where to lead me when I don’t know where to go.
I can depend on him and I do.
I surrender to Jesus because I want him to lead me and guide me through life. As a true friend who has the extraordinary heart of a parent and beloved pet who both love unconditionally, I know that I can entrust my entire being into his supervision and care.
Oh, what a wonderful friend that I have in my Lord Jesus, one who is genuine and true. A very best friend to the end-which in return will be my true new beginning.
Within the current field I work in there included quite a few roads of both convenient, and inconvenient, local and minor distant travel.
For seven years straight I have been a healthcare professional. Before then, and during my present area of employment I have also had multiple occupations within retail.
I have worked two jobs at a time holding a daytime position at one establishment and an overnight position at another.
I have traveled every day from my hometown of Queens, New York through New Jersey to upstate New York in Rockland County.
I have traveled every day or night to Manhattan and Westchester County.
I have worked Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Long Island. I have been to numerous locations all around the city. I have been almost everywhere.
I learned to travel at an early age. My mother use to take me along with her to places all the time. I watched and learned from then. When I branched out on my own during my teens, I already knew how to go from here to there and I had a natural sense of direction as so did my mother.
What I like and have liked about most of my jobs is that I had the fortunate advantage to work independently under my supervisors. There have been assignments that included teamwork and that is great too, especially when co-workers are responsible, capable and behave professionally. However, co-workers are not always dependable, sufficient or cooperative.
I had lead roles where I worked alone and took on and mastered different tasks and functions. I totally enjoyed all of my responsibilities, they were more like fun to me than mere work, and I excelled within all of them. I was like the “energizer bunny“! I just kept going and going.
I had problems and incidents with jealous coworkers yet the incidents did not deter me or interfere with my obligations. I was unbothered and paid their shenanigans no attention. I, of course, stood up for myself and even reported some of them when necessary. I was not afraid of anyone at any of my workplaces.
When I look back, I see how much I rip and ran throughout the years, not only for heading out to work but to taking care of personal business as well. Yes, I maintained a busy pace.
I once took my mother with me on one of the Coach USA buses, I used to catch either on the George Washington bridge or at the Port Authority bus terminal, depending on how I felt like going on any particular day, to pick up my paycheck from Palisades, New York when I worked on a special unit at a facility caring for Alzheimer and Dementia clients.
I thought it would be nice for her to get out and see a different scenery. She very well enjoyed the visit but conveyed to me when she partook in the commute from our bus-ride in queens to two train rides, a long walk underground in the train station through a long tunnel to then catch the thirty-minute bus-ride to our destination, “I would not do this every day”.
I could not blame her at all for her comment. I myself do not even understand how I did it or all of the other things I had done, and was capable of doing them without slacking off. Also, to mention, I was always very punctual, getting to my jobs ahead of time even!
I think it was in 2019 when my mother accompanied me to Brooklyn to take care of some business.
I have worked in Brooklyn, New York a few times and an agency I once worked for was headquartered down there.
Before that particular time period, I had traveled to Brooklyn when I occasionally had to during my early adulthood, and so on.
Brooklyn is not the best area but it is not the worst either, however, I prefer not to go there if I do not have to.
So anyway, in 2019 when I had to go handle an affair my mother would not let me go alone. I was forty-four years old at the time but this woman refused to let me head down to this area by myself. My heart was greatly warmed.
Of, course, my mother knew the certain routes of Brooklyn and other places. She was a busy traveler in her days too.
No matter how old we get we will always receive the solicitous regard of our thoughtful and concerned parents.
Even while out running an errand in our neighborhood I would get phone calls from my mom checking to see if I was alright or what was taking me so long to return home.
It is all so cute and endearing.
When I was around nine years of age, I remember a piercing dream that I had at the time. I was an extremely sensitive (very intuitive/spiritually inclined) child back then, keenly intelligent and highly aware. I was in-tuned to my surroundings whether physical or spiritual.
This was no ordinary dream; within the vision my mother had passed away and I was at her gravesite burial. The idea of my mother dying or being dead at that early time in my life was both heartbreaking and earth-shattering. Yes, quite traumatic and momentous. I could not have imagined life without her. It would have destroyed me so young because I loved her tremendously and we had a special bond.
In the morning, when I awoke from the dream, the emotional residue from what I had encountered lingered with me a bit. Soon I realized that my mother was not actually going to die, however, I was being divinely guided with discipline. God was using a devastating example to teach me a very valuable lesson.
The training behind the reprimand was to have more appreciation for my mother. The Lord’s act was warranted, and even at that age of nine it was appropriate and I understood. There were times when I was not being considerate and showing an unjustifiable attitude toward my mom due to whatever was going on within me.
I told my mother about the dream afterwards because I shared everything with her. She agreed with me about the message I received. I took the instruction from God appreciatively as I appreciated the warning and I indeed appreciated my mom all the more.
The Lord’s correction was done purely out his righteousness, and for his abundant love and compassion for my mother. I am so grateful that he also loved me enough to discipline me and show me where I was wrong. God used a significant tactic, the projection of how precious it was to respect and to value the presence of my mother in my life.
My mother had informed to me later in life that she prayed to the Lord when I was a baby to allow her to live long enough to see me able to become an adult, able to take care of myself. She didn’t ever want me to be mistreated or without the necessities of survival just like any exceptional mother who would lay down their life for their child would not.
God generously granted my mother her request and gave us very long years together. She was able to see me fend for myself, and her too, within the process. I am thankful to the Lord for giving me enough wonderful time with such a dear and loving mother. There are so many in life who didn’t get the chance or opportunity to grow up with a parent due to losing them early on in life.
My heart goes out to all who have experienced this unfortunate circumstance in life. It is important to treasure what matters most within our lives and live each day within recognition of each blessing.
My mother was a major influence in my world she made a huge impact on my life. Where would I be without the love, attention, and teaching that she gave to me?
Her and I were both smart academically, talented and gifted spiritually, able to learn on our own, to be self-taught without anyone having to train or to inform to us the certain significant matters of life and society. The Lord created us the perfect match for one another.
God played a solid role within my mother’s growth and maintenance. She told me he did a lot for her.
My mother went through a lot from an early age. I wonder how she came through so sufficiently to then endure further hardships with family and other jealous and troubled folk all the while continuing to be a phenomenal mother to me.
Aside from I recognizing God himself proving to be extremely faithful in most of our life circumstances, my mother is the reason I am able to put my hope and trust within the Lord.
Thank you, mommy, for teaching me to pray as a little girl. Thank you, mommy, for all those years of being there for me, always believing in me, always encouraging me. Thank you for being someone I could deeply and genuinely admire, look up to, respect and love ultimately.
Your sense of humor was out of this world, we both cracked each other up. You were funny without trying to be, you had that natural knack for inciting laughter. I get my gaiety from you.
I loved the fondness and ear that we had for different types of music and all of the moments we enjoyed together listening and jamming to the beats. The gospel music you used to play for years was also very inspiring and still motivates me to this very day.
I am so honored and glad that I was born to you, I could not have asked for a better parent. You deserve all the best reward for everything that you have done for me and other undeserving people, and for all that you had to go through in this crazy, twisted world we call a society.
I love you so much, the love you gave to me was untouchable. No one but God can surpass it. Your love highly contributed to my strength, self-worth, and security. You kept me full, never lacking or needing anything other than the nurturing I was supplied with.
I am a survivor, a complete woman due to the fierce and selfless woman in you. Mom, you sacrificed yourself as a true mother does always putting me first.
You were never last to me. You are my number one. The best woman I ever knew. You are my best friend, you and Brandie! Forever, and ever, and ever.
I love you.
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. -Psalm 139:13
I’m not at all ashamed to say that the only ones whom I truly, dearly and completely (wholeheartedly) loved out of my entire household was my mother and my dog (Brandie).
They were, still are, and always will be the loves of my life.
God blessed me with them and he blessed them with me. God made no mistake in placing each one of us into our lives together. We were all made for one another.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. -Psalm 139:15
I wonder how I was so lucky to have such loving and beautiful individuals not only to cross my paths, but to be the innermost part of me through a family relation.
You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book.Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. -Psalm 139:16
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me! -Psalm 139:17-18
I remember when I had wanted another puppy so badly as a young child after my very first one was cruelly given away by my grandmother. Two or three years later my mother took me to adopt Brandie, and she was perfect.
It was worth the wait through all of my impatience as God provided us with an exceptional pet. His plan was perfect!
I am very grateful and thankful for my mother and dog and all of the great years we enjoyed. Our bond is extremely special and forever cherished. God had made us three uniquely compatible.
Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. -Ephesians 1:4
I remember as a child and growing up how my mother would always prepare big holiday meals every year whether it was for Thanksgiving, Christmas or a little something extra during Easter season.
Holiday events are celebrated with the enjoyment of delicious food and drink, however, the festivities represent more than just the indulgence of eating a lavish satisfying dinner.
Thanksgiving is coming up and I am just thankful in itself.
I am thankful for everything that I am blessed with, and everything that I have ever been blessed with.
God has truly been very good to me and toward my family. When I look back on my life and where I’m at today I see just how many times he’s been there for me and how he never let me fall down to severely hurt myself.
I was fortunate to escape being damaged in anyway.
Like a loving parent, God prevented a lot of accidents and abrasions from occurring and stopped a lot of ruptures before they could start.
God has always been right there to catch me just in time to steer me back on my feet to stand upright and walk steadily in his grace.
Thank you Lord- latoyalawrence
People came at me with black magic/voodoo/witchcraft when I was just seven to eight years of age.
One would have to be severely malicious to go after an innocent child.
However, I wasn’t any ordinary child, born with extrasensory perception, an advanced intellect, and an extremely strong will and spirit, I was a triple threat among morbidly twisted individuals.
My mother was in her twenties at the time as we were both targeted for being who we were, for our capacities, and for what we was able to do and to achieve.
We had also come from a very good loving family that others wanted to destroy so they had gotten to the few relatives who measured within their low-grade category.
These adversaries didn’t know or weren’t aware about the other upstanding and exceptional members of my family who lived and resided within numerous boroughs and within distant locations.
My additional relatives were top notch people and there were a vast maternal clan of them. I can attest and give account to their significant existence.
I am a proud descendant of my wonderful family tree.
We all have a few tattered branches, and withered leaves, that break off and that fall to the side for the wind to blow away from time to time. It’s just an unfortunate fact of life.
Sometimes the environment removes the toxic parts of an element in order to not taint or to contaminate the whole entire aspect. Nature has a way of keeping an atmosphere healthy and productive.
As a spiritually inclined individual who was highly sensitive within intuitive faculty, I was able to feel what was going on around me without being mentally or emotionally affected by the situation.
Black magic/voodoo/witchcraft never had any serious effect on my mind.
When adversaries realize the technique of “weakening the senses” is not conquering their target, they resort to a paranormal strategy to work on the emotions.
Anyone with heavy empathic ability “feels” to the core.
So if black magic/voodoo/witchcraft is used to deceive and to manipulate one through unnatural sensation to influence one’s thought process the instance may, or will, inevitably be felt.
Yet, the occurrence itself, is definitely not the same incident as actual domination, and it does not mean the black magic/voodoo/witchcraft is working on the individual target.
As highly spiritually inclined people, we get messages through the feelings that we intensely feel, and when someone directs negativity toward us we can pick up on the energy, and we are able to discern the circumstance without necessarily coming under the influence of the condition.
Black magic/voodoo/witchcraft has the ability to operate around us without maneuvering within our surrounding area, or personal space, especially when we have protection, a strong spirit, and a robust energy.
In specific cases, black magic/voodoo/witchcraft directed toward us spiritually inclined people will automatically backfire, depending on who we are, the intent, and the advantage celestially framing one.
Instead of us being compelled by what we are not receptive to our innate state of repulsion at the experience counteracts to paranormally repel all of the negativity.
Ignorant and insecure men will accuse a female of trying to be like a man when she does not display the stereotypical characteristics of the women they and society have become fondly accustomed to.
In actuality, I by birth have never been the average type of female or the stereotypical version.
Who said, and where does it come from, that women who seem to think like men, or who are not emotional, or who have sex with no emotional attachment are trying to be like men?
Where did it come from that these traits or behaviors are strictly men related? I was born this way, have always been this way, and know other females who are this way.
Only twisted people reflect in this manner.
No matter what gender anyone is they have the right to be and to express who they are without bias, criticism, and backlash from egotistical and inadequate other people.
I was born a female, and I am proud to be a girl, a lady and a woman.
I was not meant to be with a man it is not within my nature to be attracted to, to love, to desire, or to copulate with any male out of pleasure, or out of affection. And I am not a lesbian.
There are certain men who also feel this way about and toward women, and that is perfectly fine.
I’m not talking about hatred of any kind I’m talking about natural inborn tendency.
I am asexual.
I am whole and complete as an individual, confident and secure, uninhibited and unabashed.
I, of course, don’t represent all females as we come in all variety, inherent nature, and preference.
However, I epitomize what a genuine female is as I am a real girl, lady, and woman.
A female is not defined by a standard that is believed to be or a standard of what one should be. A female is defined by the strength and the depth of her true mind and spirit.
I was nine or ten years of age when my great-grandmother first taught me how to crochet. At the time, I didn’t have the patience to learn to knit.
My great-grandmother use to design clothes for my mother’s dolls when she was a youngster, and when I was a baby, my mother knitted and crocheted beautiful blankets to adorn me in.
My mother also made lovely patterns and clothing with her sewing machine from the age of fifteen on up.
As a person with innovative ideas I was always extremely creative, having a natural flair to invent and to express.
I’ve indulged in an array of arts and crafts which I took great pleasure within and that occupied my time.
I enjoyed cross stitch, lanyard, and painting. I even constructed my own plaque at a workshop when I was fourteen years of age.
I sawed off a large piece of wood, sanded the surface to smooth out the texture, I then engraved words onto the wood, and polished the finishing touches out with shellac.
My mother kept the plaque hung upon her bedroom wall for years.
Talent and skill is big in my family, especially among some of us in particular. I know it is in my blood, as well as within my heart and soul to produce.
After all, I come from a maternal family of business owners who self made and who self asserted themselves.
I am an entrepreneur deep inside.
The little girl who caught on instantly to the fun and styles that attract the attention, and the vast interest within those who love to form and to design through the various and colorful materials of yarn, is the woman today who still likes to crochet until her finger burns, and gets tired from looping.
I love all the different type of hooked needles, combining the different type variety of threads, the different type of stitches, and the elaborate fashions of tedious yet challenging sets of needlework.
After my mother gave birth to me she didn’t want to have anymore children, and I’m glad to be an only child.
My mother invested a lot of time and energy into caring for me and raising me, and she did a spectacular job.
I can’t believe all of the effort and patience my mother had, she was a natural, my mother championed parenthood.
After having gone through so much as a child herself, and taking on the certain responsibilities of her own mother by practically raising her baby sister, my mother deserved much credit.
Although she took on duties that were not her obligations my mother still had a reasonable childhood and healthy upbringing thanks to her resilient spirit and solicitous other family members.
As it is a priority for a loving parent to nurture and to protect their child, the one most important thing my mother told me that she desired when I was an infant and a toddler, was to live to see me grow up and be able to fend for myself.
My mother wanted me to reach into adulthood safely and individually established.
My mother had gotten her wish, and even better than what she hoped for under our particular set of circumstances which came to test us every now and then through the discontentment of unsavory people who envied our lifestyle, and relationship together.
I turned out good, and enduring, all the way through.
For a while, during my mid teenage years, I wondered how things within life would be once I entered into my twenties, and my experience was also even better than what I had myself expected.
My mother and I had divine intervention looking out and watching over us. We beat the obstacles negative people tried to set before us.
I have a beautiful wish for my mother that I’d like her and I to both live to see develop, and eventually happen.
Everyone who has had a breakdown of some sort is not weak, crazy, or dangerously unstable.
A breakdown is spiritual within many instances. A Yoruba priestess even acknowledged this fact to me years ago. I know firsthand as my own mother was a victim of brujeria in the early 1980’s.
I was even targeted. My aunt tried to flip me out when I was eighteen years of age by putting the hallucinogenic drug mescaline into a hot pot of black eyed peas that I had cooking over the stove.
People often use recreational “trip” drugs to increase the chance or enhance the effect of mental and chemical alterations of the brain while also performing the negative spiritual influences within black magic/voodoo/witchcraft.
My aunt went a step further in her malicious attempt by also putting tainted hiv fluids inside my food. Anyone educated would know the disease would not survive within the air and within a pot of scalding hot water.
Nevertheless, I didn’t lose my head or have a breakdown, my mind was too strong with faculty and awareness, and I didn’t, of course, become infected with aids either.
I was young, innocent, and very spiritually inclined, so divine intervention took over and protected me.
My aunt Tina (Ernestine Lawrence) has been hiv positive since the 1980’s due to intravenous drug use and promiscuous behavior from the 1970’s on up and instead of using her limited time to spend changing her life around for the better, she continued to do tons of constant dirt. She and other envious and jealous ruthless dummies, whores, drug addicts, and degenerates attacked me and other family for decades.
They’ve in addition done it to others, however, when they came after my mother and I, they messed with the wrong individuals. We are people of the light and they are people of the darkness. My ancestors and orishas were ready for them all, and the universe was recording and keeping record of every notorious deed in which was repeatedly done toward us.
Tina had poisoned food of my mother’s years ago too while neighbors were working black magic/voodoo/witchcraft against her.
My grandfather was driven to mental affliction before he was killed and found dead in the Hudson river.
My aunt Charise was drugged and raped which caused her to be afflicted with mental illness.
My grandfather, mother, younger aunt, and I were targeted for manipulative breakdowns because we were all very smart, strong, and fighters who could literally kick ass if needed be. We weren’t the type to back down or be bullied by anyone, and we were all good upstanding people.
The intent for causing mental, emotional, and spiritual breakdowns are to weaken one, to render them as incredible, and to lower their self esteem and spirit.
Certain evildoers want those of us who have knowledge in which threaten their unscrupulous ways either dead or labeled as crazy.
When I arrived to Manhattan before 9.am. this morning it was raining.
The precipitation felt good, though, the drops weren’t coming down too hard at all it was refreshing.
By the time I was on my way home during the afternoon the rain had stopped completely yet the sky remained cloudy.
As I walked along the streets I took a few photos with my smartphone.
I brought my mother home a very healthy sandwich that contained chicken, tomato, garlic, kale, roasted onion and mozzarella heated on hero bread.
She told me how good the sandwich was and I was glad she enjoyed it.
In my opinion, sexual intercourse is a stupid act as I consider a man and his penis totally undesirable.
Nevertheless, I am a very intelligent and logical open-minded woman who knows there are a lot of females who are interested in men and sex, or who may just use men for sex whether they want to have a child or they may just want to get their kicks off.
I can still elaborate common sense to a subject in which makes no sense.
I don’t care what anyone does with their lives or with their bodies as it is of no concern to me, in spite of that fact, as a societal issue and as a woman/lady myself I am inspired to express on this subject.
I’m not at all saying that attitudes will ever change, but that I, and I am quite sure many others, absolutely do not hold these same attitudes.
Bullshit like this pisses me off so I just had to speak on it. Sexual acts and nothing else soley lowers an individual’s status simply because they are a woman? I don’t give a fuck what anyone says or thinks!
I use to hate when some people thought years ago because I didn’t indulge in sex that it meant I was “saving myself” for a husband or that it meant I was “moral”. All this bullshit way of thinking all because of how I wasn’t using my vagina.
If I was having sex what would it have meant?
My body and what I didn’t or did do with it had nothing to do with my worth or dignity as a woman as my body is not for any man or for anyone to define.
I am so proud to have been born a strong, intelligent female/woman who was not brainwashed or easily influenced and I dare anyone to define to me what womanhood means or is all about.
As I’ve mentioned a while back, my mother listens to the radio sometimes, or just about everyday in the morning, and Steve Harvey spoke on a Strawberry Letter segment that someone wrote in about in regard to a thirty-two year old woman bartender who uses her job to pick up guys in their twenties because the guys her age can’t keep up with her sexually.
It was also mentioned within the letter as to there being a double standard when it comes to the sexual prowess of men and women.
So Steve elaborated on the letter and the double standard claim, acknowledging how the double standard has been out for centuries, and that it is not going to change.
Then he brought up about how his father explained to his sister when they were younger that as a female she wouldn’t be able to do what a man does (have sex with multiple people/men) and still be considered a lady. Yet, a man that has sex with multiple woman will always be considered a man, regardless.
Of course, I’ve heard and have been aware of this type of mentality among society, however, the notion has always been one of the dumbest and most illogical things in which I’ve ever heard.
This is the reason certain ignorant and jackass men think they can ruin a woman’s reputation if they get mad at her and/or if she doesn’t want him and he gets rejected by her. It gives these men a false sense of power.
There are dumb women who fall for the nonsense also and develop a toxic mindset.
Some men just want to stop certain women from being sexually liberated due to their inability of not being able to handle or to accept the kind of women who have no true feelings or emotional attachment to them.
It is only to feed into their ridiculous egos, a lack of knowledge into the configuration of particular women, or the bias and corny so called traditional values inhabiting them and society.
All women who have sex with multiple people are not whores. It depends on the nature of the situation and the mentality of the woman.
A woman who is hooked on a penis and who needs and desires it constantly, now that is a whore, whether the woman is married or single with one man, or has been with millions of them.
A man who is promiscuous is not looked upon as anyone or anything worthwhile within my eyes. There is no difference, and to me, for men, it is much worse because it really shows a weakness on their part if they are so hung up on a vagina and need sex the way they do. It speaks volumes about a man’s mind and character, and not within a good or respectable way.
If “nature” is the pathetic excuse for why many or most men are so lustful and get aroused so easily it just goes to show and prove that they are indeed the weaker sex.
I know there are plenty of weak women out in the world but women are generally stronger than men emotionally, anyway, I knew that ever since childhood.
I grew up within a family full of strong women so I know for a fact.
As a child, my mother always kept me clean and very well-dressed. I constantly had the latest clothes and footwear if it had appealed to me.
During my teenage years my mother use to offer to buy me any type of clothing that I wanted just as long as she could afford to purchase the items at a reasonable price, however, I’d usually refuse her generosity when it came to buying apparel as I wasn’t interested in fashion. I was more preoccupied with food and health. So my mom would get me the type of things I liked to eat since I was growing up strictly vegan at that specific time.
My mother sometimes would hassle with me to get extra clothes when we’d go out shopping together, but, I didn’t want them. I never went without, though, I had brand new stuff stored away for years before I eventually wore them. I wasn’t the average teenager and I never gave my mother any problems that is why she was enthusiastic to give me things. She considered me to be a good kid who never wanted anything or ever bugged her about anything.
My mother loved to dress ever since she herself was a teen and she owned a lot of extremely nice apparel. I had good taste and dressed nice too but I wasn’t into clothing the way my mom was. There was plenty of people who were struck with admiration and jealous of her clothes, and fancy style of dress, whether she wore casual or eventful gear. A few of our neighbors would either ask to borrow certain items of my mother’s wardrobe or they’d attempt to put together outfits of their own to duplicate.
It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I guess so.
There was always music within my household. I’m listening to gorgeous tunes right now at low volume as I write.
My mother made sure I had my own Walkman, Record Player, Organ, Boom Box, and giant set of Headphones as a child growing up.
My mother enjoyed listening to her own complete stereo system that included the tall speakers in which she’d blast.
I have other relatives who adored music and some were even talented within the skills of writing notes and playing musical instruments professionally.
We had loads of albums, cassette tapes, and CDs to engage in as we loved all types of music from soft rock, pop, jazz, rhythm and blues, particular rap, alternative, gospel, and whatever sounded good to the ears.
When I was eight years old my mother and I got up one day and headed to an area of queens village where we use to shop at, eat at, go to the movies at, and frequent a favorite discount store of ours.
We use to go out all of the time.
On this particular day we stopped off at the discount store and purchased me the original board game Monopoly.
Then we headed to Burger King where she got her a whopper and me a whopper junior with fries.
Then we headed to the movie theater.
The year was 1983 and Scarface with Al Pacino was showing as the film had just came out. Back then, at that particular time, the movie theaters use to show double features.
Scarface was about three hours long and such a good movie that the whole entire audience stayed to see it a second time because also back then nobody had to pay an additional fee to watch a film over again.
Everyone sat through a boring hour and a half long movie until Scarface replayed on the screen. So all of us within the theater sat for approximately seven an a half to eights hours.
After viewing Scarface for the second time my mother and I took a cab home. We arrived at our house around one am in the morning.
Instead of going to sleep my mother stayed up and taught me how to play the board game Monopoly in which she had bought for me earlier the day before.
I had thought the gesture was so nice and we played until I understood and got the hang of the game.
Such a fond memory of the love, care, and fun my mother shared and displayed to me.
We always had activities to occupy our attention.
Another game my mother was enthusiastic about teaching me to play was the board game Life (The Game Of Life).
Oh, we had delightful pastimes.
I’ve always been a free and bubbly spirit, strong and Independent, smart and confident.
Everything I achieved I’ve done on my own no one helped me to get where I’m at as I took the initiative and never accepted or needed any handouts and I am proud of myself.
Since I was in my early twenties just like a lot of young women do around that age I desired to have my own home and to live by myself.
I wasn’t exactly denied the preference. Sometimes life doesn’t give one what they want at the cost of vacating another.
My leaving a shared nest is not necessarily abandoning certain family members depending on the intention. Of course, it’s completely normal and healthy to desire to spread one’s wings and to live a life of their own.
Yet when a loved one may need us life may intercede at what can seem like a burden until we are compensated in ways that operate on the behalf of both parties when the situation is just and commendable.
We learn to accept within specific conditions and make allowances in which turn out to benefit one another at the same time maintaining an independence and individual mode of living.
When we’re decent and good, the universe recognizes, and rewards us special blessings.
When people do right by me I always remember them and I will have their back, as I am loyal, genuine, and solid.
When people do wrong by me I always remember them and those people better watch their back, as I am trustworthy, authentic, and vile. – Miss LaToya
For a lot of us our parents are the first people we bond with when we enter into this life.
Some of us have good experiences with our folks and some of us have bad experiences with them.
Fortunately, I was exceptionally well taken care of by my mother, especially under the circumstances and burdens in which she was put through by unsavory individuals and the unnatural trials of life (Witchcraft/Black Magic).
Through out it all and no matter what occurred nothing ever prevented her from being an excellent mother to her child.
I’ll never forget how well I was taken care of and how much I was loved and respected by my very own mother as a child on up until the present and the regard goes a long way.
My mother can always count on me to be in her corner and to always look out for her and not out of obligation but out of an enormous appreciation.
I just had my very first mammogram two months ago.
My primary care physician had suggested for me to get one years ago when I first entered my forties as a routine precaution.
I don’t know of anyone in my family to have ever had breast cancer and aside from there being no history of it within the lives of my relatives I never had any personal concern in regard to the issue.
I know bloodline is not a definite factor and that anyone can be at risk for breast cancer under particular circumstances in which may not always be known or explained, nevertheless, I don’t consider breast cancer a threat to me.
My test results came back normal as I expected.
I know the thought of going through biopsies, treatments, having a mastectomy, or the possibilities of an impending death is a grave matter for a lot of women and one that could be stressful and exhausting.
Yet, still and all, if I was diagnosed with the disease I would handle the situation in an entirely different fashion.
When it was suspected I had a malignant growth on one of my ovaries during my teenage years up into early adulthood I wasn’t fazed by the instance.
I had already sensed and knew I had a mass before the doctors came to know and before I went through all of the radiology testing and procedures I had undergone.
My mother at one point in her life had ovarian cancer and was lucky enough to defeat and survive it so I had a good idea of what was going on within my body with the pain and discomfort. I wasn’t afraid or mentally or emotionally troubled by the experience at all.
I didn’t care, and I’m still here.
I am a very spiritual and spiritually inclined individual by nature I was never meant to fall fatally ill and die from any disease, it just wasn’t in my destiny.
The power of healing is a very legitimate condition as I know my spirit, body, and mind is much stronger than an attack or threat of any foul disease.
I have already been put to the test.
I love the comforts of home, especially after a day or night at the job, depending on the shift I worked.
I enjoy the life I have.
I’m asexual, I don’t want or desire any man, I am very happily single, I don’t have or want any children, I don’t deal with unsavory people and individuals who I don’t care to be bothered with, I can come and go as I please, I have peace of mind, and I live an extremely healthy lifestyle.
I’m smart, confident, strong, independent, spiritual, kind, loving, and ultimately fond of puppies and dogs. These attributes all contribute to my longevity and ability to survive and maintain as I can get through anything in life.
I’ve already made it through the challenging periods still in tact. Anything else to come will be halted and handled by divine intervention.
I’m not an emotional type of person though I’m very passionate and energetic I love my space as I don’t like to intermingle too much. I’m very particular with whom I associate myself with if I do give certain people the time of day.
I am a loner, yet very far from lonely, or being alone. I have my loved ones around me and those who have my back.
When I’m at home I love to relax. I delight within preparing and cooking my favorite foods, listening to good music, preferably tunes from when music was “real music”, not the shit predominately recorded now.
I love to read books, play and have fun with pets (I don’t have a canine at the moment), look at suspenseful movies and television programs.
I also have a lot of creative hobbies In which I take pleasure in.
My zodiac sign is Taurus and we love our homes.
My mother, Patricia, made herself some potato salad earlier today and had fried chicken wings to go along with it.
The meal satisfied her fancy as her preparation turned out just the way she wanted.
She told me her food tasted good.
So my mother and I both prepared two of our own separate meals in which our appetites craved and took pleasure within.
I had an awesome breakfast and she had an amazing lunch.
Simple things like this make us happy and content.
When I was about twelve or thirteen I remember these commercials would come on the television advertising one to call up to win prizes through automated/recorded quizzes.
So I called up the number and I had to choose the right or wrong answer by pushing the dial pads of the touchtone telephone my family owned.
I actually won and received a free coupon to go bowling at Jib Lane Bowling Alley though I never went since I wasn’t interested in the sport.
I began to call quite a few times to see what else I could win, however, most of the time it was the same old prize to Jib Lane as I kept winning the quizzes. I called so often that I discovered through repitition every Wednesday the prize was a dozen of free assorted doughnuts from dunkin donuts.
After I found out the bonus prize I would only call on Wednesday to get me some free doughnuts.
I knew how to beat the quizzes as I had gotten so familiar with the automated system. I was never a dummy and used my intuition to constantly win but after a while I gave it up. It was fun while it had lasted.
I had plenty of Jib Lane post cards mailed out to me to go bowling for free (I didn’t want that shit).
The quiz advertisement was stingy with the free doughnuts I only received a few free dozen coupons compared to all of the ones I had gotten to go to Jib Lane.
When I went to Dunkin Donuts on more than one occasion I was able to pick out any flavor of twelve doughnuts in which I wanted as the coupons stated.
Nowadays, I don’t even eat doughnuts, I haven’t eaten a doughnut in years but those were some cool memories.
When I was a little girl I use to love doughnuts and munchkins.
The pastries were so nice to look at and so delicious to eat. Although I don’t need or desire anything simply because it appears attractive.
Everything in which looks good may not be good or healthy for us all within general.
Nevertheless, when it comes to the enjoyment of certain foods and occasional particular cravings why not indulge if the edibles are prepared with decent and nutrient based ingredients?
Even desserts can be made healthy and we can eat moderate portions or balance out the sweets with other sources of nutrition with foods such as vegetables, fruit, protein, and healthy oils.
An even distribution is key to maintaining healthy levels of what our bodies intake.
I remember when I got older my mother and I use to go to the bakery and I’d buy my cheese danish and I’d get her the black and white cookies that she loved.
She’d also go to the bakery on her own and bring me and her both back our own slices of cheesecakes.
Then, my mother began making her own home-made cheesecake which came out great. And, nowadays we have non dairy cheese cakes available for those of us who live on a vegan or vegetarian diet!
One of my dogs I had years ago loved to drink milk and luckily never had worms (parasites) as a result. She loved milk and Ice cream and she would sit and chill out with me as we both ate delectable batches of oatmeal cookies together. We often did this (eating and snacking with each other) during our times of bonding within our own inviting and “sweet” moments.
I’ve always loved me some milkshakes and I definitely still drink them as well I just use soymilk and non dairy ice cream/frozen desserts.
My favorite type of shake is french vanilla, my mother loves her german chocolate shakes, we’d have a ball engaging within our appetites as we delighted in one another’s company, too.
We’re all entitled to treat ourselves to innocent pleasures.
I also still love certain pastries, cookies, and cakes, they just have to be vegan with natural and non gmo ingredients in order for me to eat them.
When I was fourteen my mother use to buy me from time to time a tasty vegetable rice meal diced with mushrooms from a diner. The order was kind of expensive due to the food being of quality.
I had first became a vegan/vegetarian between the age of twelve and fourteen and would only eat certain things.
Around twelve and thirteen I’d eat dairy here and there but absolutely no meat. When I was fourteen going on fifteen I became a strict vegan. Then at eighteen, I’d eat a little seafood and poultry but still never any red meat or pork. So once in a while I’d eat a pollo pescetarian diet.
She would also bring me doughnuts and pizza too yet it was of good quality, no junk. We’d always get the good stuff ever since I was little. My mother took well good care of me.
And I am so into taking good care of myself.
Spirit will lead us into healthy modes of living in which is compatible and within accordance to our nature, and evolution.
One doesn’t need the acknowledgement from others to acknowledge one’s self
I’ve never needed a reward or anybody’s praise to feel good about myself.
I know who I am and I know what I’m capable of doing.
If no one ever took notice of my abilities it would not have made me any less able.
There is so much more to many of us than what a lot of others can see or perceive upon the surface.
What about the other qualities or faculties in which we may possess?
What about our character, how our minds think, what we stand for, what we believe in, the very things in which define our being of substance?
Those of us who are strong and confident don’t require anyone to validate us. Our existence and state of being is proof enough of affirmation, we don’t need confirmation.
The very first award I remember to have received was at the age of seven or eight, I was presented a pen in front of my entire school auditorium for being one of the best readers among all the other students.
From then on, I’d constantly receive certificates, awards, and tokens of achievement, whether at school or on my jobs.
Of course, these exhibits of recognition are very nice and enough to make our parents and those who believe within our capacity very proud of us and of our accomplishments.
I just feel praise and awards are just words and objects in which one shouldn’t expect to depend on when it comes to self worth or self value, and going forward to attain one’s aspirations.
Many puppies and dogs are special by nature.
I had quite a few of these animals within my lifetime and enjoyed every moment of sharing my home with these wonderful creatures.
Ten years after I had to have one of my dogs in which I had for seventeen years euthanized due to arthritis pain (which made her yelp), her hind legs giving out, and the fact she wouldn’t eat any food or urinate and move her bowels under the condition, I adopted another puppy from North Shore Animal League.
It was a female pup who was already paper trained and smart as a whip.
I’ve been fortunate to have certain dogs that stood out from the rest that I’ve had within intelligence, behavior, and intuitive ability.
The dog I had for seventeen years was indeed the most exceptional out of all of them. The second most remarkable was the very first puppy I ever owned when I was at the age of seven or eight.
Dogs have a keen sense of smell and natural instincts in general, however, some just bring to my attention the certain things in particular I’ve happened to take a notice of in regard to them.
One circumstance I recognized was how I would be downstairs in my house all day long working on my computer and the puppy would be upstairs the entire time with other relatives who also occupied the home because she’d never come downstairs.
When I’d finally come upstairs hours later to retreat to bed or to watch television she’d just be her normal quiet self, except when she was in the mood to play.
On the days I’d come home from work I’d be coming through the door and I would hear her upstairs whining in anticipation to greet me.
As soon as I’d reach the bedroom she’d be running towards me and jumping all over me, still whining in excitement.
I’d wonder to myself, how did she know I was out all day and not just downstairs on my computer or doing something else? She’d do the same thing all of the time.
My puppy knew the difference between me being home and not being home regardless of the fact at how long I was out of her sight.
Her reactions showed it all.
I even took notice at when she followed me into the bathroom one day and after I’d opened up the medicine cabinet she was able to see my reflection through the outside cabinet mirror.
She continuously looked back at the mirror and at me, studying the double figures of my likeness, in which she was viewing. She just kept turning her eyes back and forth at what she was seeing.
Our pet canines watch everything we do and they watch everything around us and it is marvelous how quickly they can grasp and pick up on things.
It is so adorable and pleasant to assist them within their stages of learning. Oh, how I love them so.
Those beautiful creatures.
A lot of us are sleep deprived due to our hectic schedules and demanding occupations in which can be time consuming.
The intent and determination to support ourselves, to maintain our lifestyles, and to conduct our business, often have us less preoccupied in getting the proper rest.
We are more concerned with our personal and financial responsibilities.
Usually our main priorities are to keep a roof over our heads, to keep enough food on the table, and to adequately pay our bills.
A good night’s rest we desire and need at more times than certain others yet put that behind as we acquire to get the most important things done and out of the way before we attend to our own personal comforts.
I never let any of my obligations and goals deter me from properly taking care of myself, though.
In spite of how many hours I put in and how often I have to work to meet my needs and wants, I always make sure that I eventually eat a good meal, and that I am not overly exhausted.
We must do what we have to do in order to make an honest living and to survive, however, at the same time, we are not to run ourselves down within the process.
As I am a very spiritually inclined individual I give a lot of things to faith, without fret or worry, knowing and believing everything will carry out within alignment to what is required and to what is the most vital.
So take out quality time to spend with loved ones and take out the necessary time to care for self and to enjoy the personal rewards of all the hard work and dedication.
My mother had me when she was twenty-two years old and we became very close as we bonded immediately after I was born.
We’ve been through a lot together enduring circumstances in which many would not have survived and coming out sustained within a fashion that has caused some to wonder and to be amazed.
My mother and I have battled a very long way from the negativity directed towards us by envious, jealous, and unsavory people in specific.
My mother and I both constantly held our ground and we continue to stand.
Hooray to Peace, power, love, and protection.
My mother bought me my first electric typewriter when I was twelve years of age. It was an excellent quality Brother model attractively toned in beige with a black keyboard.
Before then, I had two manual typewriters.
I treasured the gift my mother gave to me as it gave me a productive way to occupy my mind. She purchased the electric typewriter because she knew I liked to write and after creatively experimenting with stories I had invented with my new literary machine I was certain a writer is what I definitely wanted to be when I grew up.
I use to sit up at my dresser in my bedroom sipping hot tea with milk delightfully typing my imagination away!
During my teenage years my mother wanted to buy me a computer, however, I didn’t want one at the time.
I wasn’t interested as I was content writing in long hand on notebook paper then typing my manuscripts up with the use of my electric typewriter.
Then, one day I got surprised when an old neighbor who use to live next door to us purchased me a brand new computer for Christmas.
She had gotten me everything to go along with it. The monitor, the keyboard, speakers and a printer.
Ever since, I don’t understand why I didn’t want a computer from the beginning when my mother had first suggested the idea to me.
Ever since I was a young child I knew that if there was something that I didn’t want within my life then the situation was not going to work out.
Only the things that I preferred and under the circumstances in which I truly desired would instances turn out favorably and long lasting to my concordance.
I was never the type of female that ever hoped to one day get married and have children. I didn’t initially yearn to be a mother, when the idea later on within young adulthood came into mind to have a child it was with the intention of being a single parent, yet I eventually changed my mind about having a baby altogether and it was the right choice for me.
If I did have a child, though, it definitely would have been on my own without a man involved in the picture.
I fortunately grew up in a home without my father present and that is the way I liked it as I grew up strong, confident, independent and liberated-not implying that females that are raised in homes with their father’s can’t turn out that way-it was just an advantage that served a great purpose for me.
When I was little I never wished for or thought about having a dad around and when I saw other children that parents were married or together as a couple it was a situation that I didn’t require to be in I was very content and accustomed to my family order with me and my mom.
I wasn’t alone either there were other kids like me whose mothers raised them without a father it was normal to us. I can’t speak on how they actually felt about the matter, however, everything suited me just fine.
My mother never had any problems out of me I was a good child.
One thing I hated though was when guys were attracted to me or interested in me whether their intentions were good or bad I didn’t care, I wasn’t flattered by any of the attention I was genuinely turned off by it.
And it feels so good that I don’t have to go through undesirable and unsavory individuals who use to send to me the annoying invasions of mind transference through voodoo/black magic.
They had been doing it within many ways for many years within different techniques but with the same motives and that was to bring me down to their level.
Whether it was to attempt to lower my self esteem or to get me to have feelings for a man they worked hard at it and failed miserably.
These people were jealous and resentful because I’d never been hurt or dogged out by a man as so many of them had even the guys were envious and jealous of me they all figured if I was in the same predicament as they were I couldn’t or wouldn’t think that I was better than any of them.
They were also jealous and envious of my intelligence and knowledge and where I could go within life if and when the opportunity arose.
They had such a warped sense of mindset that didn’t correspond with mine in the least if they had succeeded in their designs I’d still be the person who I am today with the same mentality no man could ever break me or kill my spirit. I wasn’t built within that fashion.
If I were interested in men I’d be able to get a good man and would only deal with one that was on my level, however, I’m proudly asexual and am fulfilled and complete as a woman and an individual.
My mother Patricia Lawrence came from a very good and loving solid family, although, her mother wasn’t a good example of what a parent should be my mother received a lot of love, care, and guidance from her grandparents, uncles, cousins, and her father.
On account of her own mother, as well as a few of her envious and jealous siblings, Patricia had it rough growing up yet succeeded within many of her endeavors and became a very responsible and very sufficient adult.
Patricia was a very intelligent woman who had many talents of her very own.
She use to play the saxophone, write music, sewed and design clothing, mastered the art of short hand (Gregg and Pittman), enjoyed and was very skilled in the fields of typing as she once attended college to become a stenographer.
During adolescence Patricia savored the periods of time she’d spend down in Halifax, Virginia with her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins on her mother’s side of the family.
Down there in the south she worked on the farm, milking the cows, and attending to all of the other animals her family owned.
Our family had mules, bulls, cows, pigs, hens, roosters, baby chickens, turkeys, horses, dogs and cats.
The elders showed my very young mother along with her brother work ethics and responsibility.
At the ages of nine and ten they were taught how to labor numerous tobacco fields on the lands in which her family also owned.
They picked out all varieties of family grown crops in the gardens which some were sold to buyers and the rest was kept for our family to eat as they were established farmers who fed on their own natural and healthy produce.
Our family had their own businesses.
Patricia’s grandmother was a full-blooded Cherokee indian woman who made her own soaps and other handmade and homemade items.
Patricia’s grandfather was an african american man who headed their farm that he with the help of his wife, daughters, and sons kept prosperous.
Patricia’s great uncle, who was her mother’s uncle, owned and conducted his very own funeral home. When he died he passed the establishment on down to our close relatives.
Daily Living, By Miss LaToya 