Yes, I can…. AND DID!

I know it’s been a while since I wrote a blog. Tonight, I just feel like writing! I mean who is going to stop me? 2020 and 2021 were just rough, there is no other way to put it…. while many were dealing with the covid pandemic (including me), I was also dealing with some straight up personal problems.

I rarely talk openly about the “downs” of my life because I tend to try to stay positive, but here are the cliff notes to catch you up to speed. July 2020, terrible car accident, we were told that had we been in the rental car that we exchange just a few hours earlier that we would have died. May 2021, I was hospitalized due to fibroids and had to have an emergency blood transfusion. My hemoglobin was at 4, at a 6, you should go into heart failure or die #ButGod. July 2021, I had a hysterectomy (scheduled for September, but I could not make it). August 2021, my mother passed away from COVID. September 2021, which stitches in my stomach and tennis on the feet, I stood in the pulpit and delivered my mother’s eulogy. And you know what, I don’t have one complaint in the world, because I’m still here! I don’t know about you, but being told twice in one year that I was supposed to die and then losing my mother suddenly was enough to send anyone into a downward spiral. But for me, it reminded me that I have a path, a presence and a purpose. It reminded me that complacency is for cowards. I asked myself if I was satisfied with my journey and the answer was an astounding no! I asked myself was I ready to give up and the answer was absolutely not, there’s still more than I want to do.

If you follow my career, you’re probably thinking, “you’ve mastered everything you set out to do, what else is there?” Oh plenty! I still have dreams and visions that I am chasing after, I still have goals to meet and people to greet. But most of all I still have joy! I still have hope! I still have passion! As a serial entrepreneur, I still have some business plans on the shelf that need to be dusted off and put into action.

My children are grown (24 and 22), my grandmother passed at 107 in 2017, and my mother is gone. All the people that I am “responsible for” taking care of are either gone or preparing to take care of me in the future. My spouse… well he’s my spouse…. but I’m learning that self-care is the most critical component to a successful life. My accolades wont matter much when I close my eyes. Sure, people will speak about how I touch their lives *2 minutes please* , but in the grand scheme of things, eventually I will be a memory. So I decided after a year of hell to do something about it.

In December 2021, I booked a trip to Hawaii with my best friend. We saw Sheila E on my birthday and made our way around the island for the next few days. Even though we had a ball, I didn’t get to do everything we wanted to do! So, I booked another trip back to Hawaii in September 2022 (visited both Oahu and Maui). Lucked up and saw BabyFace in Concert for an entire $44 (and it was one of the best concerts I have ever experienced. But the 10 minutes I spent with God 1000 feet above the pacific ocean were priceless and profound. I sat there dangling and talking to God about my life, my future and how I just wanted to be happy – – again! (Don’t read too much into that, but I had been through hell and was crawling my way back out). He responded with an unmerited amount of favor in the coming months to confirm that I still have work to do. So many wonderful things began to happen for me, my businesses, my career and my family. I knew that I had made some hard but correct choices. But it didn’t stop there, In November of 2022, I went to Mexico (ended up with plantar fasciitis – the worse pain ever). I ended the year with another birthday, which was quiet because my foot was in a boot. I actually went to work that day and it was on a Friday (haven’t done that in probably 10 years).

If you’re wondering what it feels like to wake up feeling “successful” every day for the little things like being able to comb your hair, being able to walk on your own, having a full tank of gas, being in a position to help others. That is the perfect picture of success! When someone asks are doing things that make you happy, I hope you reply…. I can….and I did! (past tense).