“Your crown has already been paid for; all you have to do is put it on your head.” – James Baldwin. I just LOVE this quote, and I think about it quite a bit when I reflect on the lives of those who came before me. I’ve thought a lot about my grandmother, my father’s…
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Year 35: A Dream for My Daughter
To My Little Angel, Now as far as I know, my half of your DNA is still resting safely in my egg cartons and your father’s portion is resting securely with him. But if you have any intel about who and where your Daddy is you let your Mommy know, OK? I woke up…
#Surfboarding. That’s All.
I’m truly enjoying my new life as a free editorial agent in Brooklyn. Last night’s Big Apple adventure included helping a good friend with a photo shoot. We’re about two hours into the shoot when Beyonce’s “Drunk in Love” comes pouring out of someone’s iPod. I heard the first few strains of the song before…
Who’s Afraid of a Big, Bad Opinion?
It’s safe to say that I have a very adventurous spirit. I’ve climbed a waterfall in Jamaica, snorkeled in the Bahamas, and rode an elephant in Bali. I’ve sampled a wide variety of cuisine from fresh sushi in Japan to fried gator in New Orleans. I’m not afraid to holla at a gentleman that I…
Smashing the Zsa Zsa Zsu
I am a proud, Manolo Blahnik-aspiring disciple of the fictional yet fabulous Carrie Bradshaw. I fell in love with “Sex and the City” during its final season in 2003 just as I was embarking upon my first year of adulthood. As an aspiring New Yorker, I absolutely adored all of the show’s fashion, sky-high stilettos,…
And The Ceiling Can’t Hold Us!
I have to unequivocally name Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ “Can’t Hold Us” as my official theme song for 2013. Every time I hear those infectious hand claps, churchy foot stomps, and that clanging piano at the beginning of that song, I have absolutely no choice but to get up and shake what Ida Mae gave…
A Dream Un-Deferred
“We have to learn to appreciate the space between God’s promise and his performance.” – Rev. Howard-John Wesley I never imagined that the space for this promise would be more than 10 years in the making. I never knew that it would literally take everything in my heart to hold on to this dream when…
And Meah Too
A few weeks ago, I had one of those surreal moments where I could literally be in the moment and truly realize how blessed I am. I had just finished eating dinner with the Wakefield clan in Annapolis and all of a sudden per Cameron’s insistence we broke out into our own little dance party…
Girl, You Got People
“Girl, you got people!” This is one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite fall books “October Suite” by Maxine Clair. In the book, the main character, October Brown, is a single woman who goes off Up North to the Big City to become a teacher during the 1950s. She soon finds herself…
Becoming Ida’s Daughter
When I typically introduce myself to others, I normally identify myself as a sister, an auntie, a friend, a singer, and a writer. I rarely if ever say that I am a daughter. Now that both of my parents are gone, it’s uncomfortable to stand as their daughter without a lot of uncomfortable conversation about…
A Three-Piece Suit at Kennywood Park
One of my absolute favorite childhood memories is of a perfect summer day in 1991 when my father took me and my brother, Thomas, to Kennywood Park in Pittsburgh, Pa. For those of you unfamiliar with the awesomeness that is Kennywood, let me just say that it is THE best amusement park in the country…
Becoming a Grown-Ass Woman
I had a recent interaction with an unlearned, wet-behind-the-ears, 20-something who, in the immortal words of Real Housewife Kenya Moore, came for me when I CLEARLY did NOT send for her. I could have LET.HER.HAVE.IT., but something in my spirit held me back. If this same incident happened a few months ago, I would have…
The Ink Well 