My Only Friend

I've been staring at this fruit loop for 30 minutes. I'm wondering when am I going to pick this yellow hidden treasure off the floor surrounded by remnants of his friends. I've passed this fruit loop several times over the last two weeks, but something has prevented me from sweeping this lonely particle made up of sugar and processed flour from the Earth. How lonely this fruit loop must feel? I wonder if it feels abandoned. Life is passing by right before its eyes. He feels like the world is going on without him. His friends have moved on, but he is still in the same position. He's waiting for the Grimm Sweeper to come and make a decision for him. He has no legs. No strength to move. He feels hopeless. Maybe I should take him out of his misery or maybe I'll just wait another week.

I'm in Love With My Best Friend

There is something I have to tell you. I love you! Well actually, I'm in love with you. I mean of course I'm in love with you. Why not! You know me. You know everything about me. You can sense when I'm sad, lonely, tired, weak, happy. When I can't talk to you I miss you. We have been friends since we were little girls. We dreamed together. We prayed together. We sang together. He doesn't know me like you do. We have everything in common. We watch the same shows, share clothes, and even got pregnant at the same time. So why didn't you know. I love you, so, so, much. When you are mad at me I feel like I can't breathe. I actually lay in bed and stare at the walls. When I'm mad at him I just have to get naked and then its over. You are the funniest, silliest, most successful person I know. Your my personal therapist. Remember when that girl threatened to beat me up at 3p.m. after school. You were there at 2:58p.m. I love you so, so, much. You know my deepest, darkest secrets. Secrets I can't share with him. If I did we would be divorced already. Remember how you drove me to the hospital when I was pregnant? You have always been there for me. Do you remember how you got sick taking care of me and you missed your final exams? I love you so, so, so much. Remember how you bought me pineapple sodas from Benjis when I didn't have any money after school. How didn't you know! I love you!!! "I love you, too!"

Once upon a time……..

Once upon a time there was this beautiful princess. She was the most beautiful creature in all the kingdom. She had hair all the way down her back, and the biggest prettiest eyes you ever seen before. She was filled with so much youth that she would laugh, jump, and play. She enjoyed life. She would eat healthy food from the garden, and spend the remainder of the day pampering herself with massages, pedicures, and facial treatments. While everyone else was spending their money on makeup all she had to do was get a facial and she was done. No laugh lines, no wrinkles or acne. She was beautiful. All the ladies at court kept asking her when was she going to get married. It was time to settle down and have children. But the princess didn't think she was ready to start a family yet. She was enjoying life. She could do whatever she wanted. She had dreams of becoming an airplane pilot. She always enjoyed flying. She wanted to see the world. However, her friends kept insisting that she get married and start a family. However when they brought the idea up it was always accompanied by a strange smirk and a sly grin. Then a prince appeared. All the women in the kingdom fancied the prince. He was charming, and generous. He promised her jewels, furs, a beautiful home, a luxurious car, and anything her heart desired. He just wanted an heir. On their wedding night they made passionate love all night long. Soon she became pregnant. And so the real story begins. The princess did not enjoy being pregnant. Her feet ached, her tummy ached, she felt like it all was a big mistake. The prince began to look ugly. She no longer looked at him as her snuggly big bear, but a nuisance in underwear. Everyone made her sick. She realized it had all been a trick. Her friends were getting a kick out of her misery. She wondered if there had been some form of wizardry. She was no longer beautiful with long, flowing hair. She became bloated and fat and began to not care. She no longer ate healthy food which maintained her figure. She loved eating Bojangles blueberry biscuits. The more she worried the more she grew hairy. Hair sprouted from her chin and face, while inches grew from her waist. She no longer had time for a wax. Her kitty kat was on blast. The aesthetician frowned and said "I'll be right back!" But still the prince grew fonder. He demanded more kids with a great hunger. She laid down an abided by his rule. Before long she was feeling like a mule. You could never catch her without a child on her back. Screaming and crying and wetting the sack. She dreamed of what her life could have been. Maybe she should have married ugly Ken. At least his hair was wavy. And maybe just maybe he couldn't make babies. The End

7 pound Baby

Remember the movie 7 pounds with Will Smith. The movie where he accidentally kills seven people while driving a car. At the end of the movie he donates his body parts to several different individuals. In the end Rosario Dawson sees Woody Harrelson and looks into his eyes and sees Will Smith. I always think about that movie when I look into my daughter's eyes. Its funny because she has her dad's eyes. When I took genetics class in college my professor said that offspring (children) do not get a mixture of genes. I mean if one parent has blue hair and the other parent has red hair your child will not have purple hair. The child will either have blue hair or red hair. Children inherit features from both parents either good or bad. Hopefully if your lucky your children will inherit the best qualities that you and your spouse have to offer. Through life's hardships you and your spouse can grow apart or grow closer to one another. You can begin to despise that person or you can become closer and love that person more than you ever loved him or her before. Either way how parents treat each other in life definitely affects children. Sometimes a person who you once would die for becomes the person you actually want to kill. You say so many hurtful things to one another that your words become bullets and your mouth becomes a shotgun. But then you see you kids. You see them cry. You see them laugh. You notice that they have your nose. They have his bony legs. You remember that time how silly he looked in swim trunks when you went to the Bahamas that summer and how he made you laugh. You touch your daughters hair and feel the softness and think about how her hair use to fall in her eyes and you would move it from her face. How her hair smelled of vanilla. Sometimes dwelling too much in the past or too much in the present prevents you from appreciating what is staring you right in the face. Sometimes looking in your children's eyes, smelling their hair, and making them laugh is what the future holds. Forgetting how they hurt you , remembering how they loved, and not imagining you life without them is what being a family is about. And those are the best qualities you have to offer.

Mommies little secrets

What would we do without our mothers? A good mother has a way of making everything look picture perfect without letting you know how much effort was put into it. Mothers have such little secrets that allow the world to go round, the Earth to spin on an axis, and aliens to stay unseen. For example, when your sick and your tummy hurts who do you call? Your mommy. When the kids are picking on you in school and you feel like you don't have a single person to turn to, who do you call? Your mommy. Mommies are so important, sometimes we don't realize how important they are because we never see those little things.
How do they do it? My mom always managed to stay cheerful all day. She never raised her voice and always had a smile on her face. One time I told her that this big breasted girl in the 4th grade named Stacey was picking on me in school and she told me to pray about it. The next day it got better. My little brother used to run around like a motorcycle let loose in the house, then one day like magic he stopped. After a long day at work my mother always managed to have a four-course meal waiting on the table for us at dinner time. I remember on another occasion telling my mother that I had a little too much fun over spring break and how I was worried that my monthly would not come. She handed me a cup of hot chocolate and told me know need to worry and everything would be okay. My mom had a way of making everything alright. So when I gave birth to my first daughter my mother was right there with me and whispered in my ear I have a little secret to tell you. I knew that whatever she was about to tell me would be the best advice I would ever receive.
She said " You are a mommy now so its time for me to tell you mommies little secrets because now you too will have your own little secrets." She said, "Remember how that big breasted girl Stacey used to pick on you in school. I paid an eight grade boy to take her out and become her boyfriend. Remember how I always stayed happy and never sad. That was Prozac, honey. And remember how your brother used to run around like he had a V8 engine inside of him then one day he stopped. That was because I put Ritalin in his peanut butter sandwiches. You know how I always managed to cook a new meal every day. That was Boston market. And finally, remember how you had too much fun that one Spring break and I gave you some hot chocolate to make you feel better. It had the morning after pill in it. Well those are mommies little secrets and soon you will have some of your own. But remember not tell anyone your secrets. By the way your real daddy is the mail man."

I need a tinkle!!

What happened to the tingle? Married ladies remember when you were in high school with your teenage boy crush. Do you remember when he would touch you ever so slightly on the knee and thousands of lightning rods would shoot up your leg? Each time his hand touched your face, or your back you thought a buzzer had been placed in your underpants. Now your past is 20 and your future is 40 and your wondering when was the last time someone set your panties on fire, and I'm not talking about 1998 when you had a little too much fun during Spring Break.

What happened to the tingle in your life? The excitement! The chase! The cat and mouse game! Instead of setting the mood you ask "Hey you wanna do it?" Then you text each other what time to meet in the bedroom. No more undressing me with you eyes. Now its "take your flannel pajamas off but leave on the top" and "can you press pause on the dvr." Of course you lost your tingle you left it in Daytona Beach in 1998 and haven't felt it since. The closest you came to a tingle is before you traded your old washing machine for a non pulsating, non vibrating high efficiency washer and dryer. Your 3 year old daughter walks in while your busy folding clothes and reminiscing about the old days and says "Mommy I need to tinkle." And you say, "Tell me about it!"

Yesterday, I watched something remarkable occur

Yesterday, I watched something remarkable occur.

My son is in the third grade, and since the first grade I have fought tooth and nail with the school system to ensure that my son is provided all that the school has to offer. Because of my teaching experience and education I demand the best teacher and most highly qualified staff to assist in enriching my children's learning experience.

Throughout this experience I have drove the car and been the guiding force in my boys education. Of course we all know this is a woman's world. I mean woman run the economy, can unknowingly create wars, and are the reasons why health care wasn't free in the first place. With all this said of course we haven't turned to the men to solve this reoccurring problem of failing schools and unanswered questions. Most schools are a No Man's Land. I mean this literally. If your searching for a husband (meaning a man) then you will have a hard time finding one on the job if you are a teacher. Finding a man working at a school is like finding a $2.00 bill on the street, however you will have more luck finding one in a nail salon. The point is most school systems may have the men working as principals or serving on the Board of Education, but we all know who runs the schools, the teachers. Because most teachers are women we pretty much run the schools, too. However, for some odd reason, if you can believe it we still have not figured out why African Americans students, especially boys are continuing to score lower than African American students on standardized tests.

But yesterday, I watched something remarkable occur. My husband took over the steering wheel. This man has no teaching experience. Unlike my son's third grade teacher he has never been nominated as Teacher of the Year or held a teaching license in any state. He is educated and possesses a bachelor's degree in a field unrelated to education. I watched my husband instruct our child in a way that I have never seen demonstrated in all my years of teaching or being taught. He didn't talk our son to death, either. Most teachers like myself have a problem with allowing the students to lead the class. I think we feel like we have more control when we talk over the children and raise our voices louder when the principal walks in the room. My husband worked differently. He actually taught our son how to learn. He incorporated instructional strategies in his instruction like a veteran teacher. He repeated a lot of the questions he asked and did not tire out and attempt to answer his own questions like many of us teachers do when students stare blankly at us after being asked a question. He also asked him how does he know the answer was correct. Instead of just accepting that the child scored the correct answer he actually asked him how he figured the answer out to ensure that he had the correct answer.

Yesterday, was phenomenal. Just think if more fathers worked with their children the same way my husband worked with our son last night I think the closing of the achievement gap might just have a chance. I know sometimes (all the times) us women hate to admit when we are wrong, but I today I will give credit where it is due. I know James Brown was right when he sung "This is a Woman's World" (wink) but maybe we should play their song every now and then.