Thankful for Perfect Imperfections

As we wake this morning we send texts and Facebook posts telling the world how Thankful and blessed we are.  We are thankful for all the things we have, for our family and friends and jobs.  Do we give thanks to all of the struggles we face?  For the bad times? For our imperfections? This is a day of thanks and for some reason my heart has put my fingers to work.  Someone out there can't see through the storm and can't see the beauty of their imperfections. I now know that my life imperfections are perfect.  For all of the times I tried and I failed, for all of the times I thought I couldn't move forward what I  didn't know was that I was working towards perfecting the imperfections.  In those moments I couldn't seem to find an ounce of thankfulness, yet everytime I overcame whatever the obstacle.  At the end of the storm I then became thankful.  I began to think geez what if I was thankful through it all no matter the challenge?  It took time and many experiences to learn to be thankful in every circumstance.  I am not naive to the fact that I will experience other challenges  where it will be difficult to be thankful.  There will be times when its so cloudy I can't seem to muster up an ounce of gratitude but I know that the beauty of life is when things are not perfect they are exactly that.   God is our perfect peace and in Him resides our perfect place so therefore our imperfections are perfectly perfect!!

Not in my house!

I have to share another conversation I had with my kiddos and their friends...The use ofthe word Nigga, NOPE not in my house! Until our black youth or all youth for that matter can tell me other notable African Americans in history OTHER than MLK, Rosa Parks, Malcom X and the history of the word, the answer will always be NO.  I may engage the idea of a debate (they usually loose at that game).  I could just simple say "You can't say it because I said so" but what would that teach? Nothing.

Not that me certificate in African American History makes me an expert but it shows my kids and their friends that I made a choice to learn about me, about them, about us.  

Who is Booker T. Washington? And what did he contribute? 

Who is Ida B. Wells? And what did she contribute? 

What do their words mean? How have they helped us?

Where does the word Nigga belong?

Not in my house!  period.com

Hoodies...not hoodlums.

My best friend has always suggested that I blog about my family and all of the crazy events...I have tried before and I have failed.  But after a conversation I had with my sons last night (all of them including the weekenders) was very enlightening and difficult for me!   I teach my boys to be a LEADER 1- Do not lie, 2- Do the right thing all the time, 3- Do not follow others with a new one being added 4- be the best You you can be.   I can teach them all of these things but reality is not everyone will see them in that same fashion! It's reality...our reality, their reality.  They can be the best they can be but just because they love to wear "hoodies" may cause them to experience....um...well let me just say it (hell it's my blog) Racial Profiling! My oldest Jerry LOVES things with pockets and has been faithfully wearing my old hoodie from 15 years ago.  He walks around the house with it on because he is always cold...okay fine, but PLEASE don't wear it outside...PLEASE! I had to explain to them what they do in here (our home) is not what they should do out there.  They are not thugs because they listen to rap, or because they wear hoodies.  They are athletes...student athletes.   Even though we all live within a mile radius of one another they still can't walk to each others house after sundown.  Not because we don't trust them but we don't trust other people.  We don't trust others that may want to steal from them or the police that may assume they are causing trouble because of the hoodie.  Yes this post goes back to Trayvon Martin, but what sparked the conversation was Michael Brown.   One of my sons says "they both were unarmed".  Yes they were but in society sometimes that does not matter.  I say "we do not know the details of either event so we can not make assumptions, but yes it is wrong to shoot an unarmed man".  As my father raised my brothers- Real Man Fight with their fists and their brains and we should fear no man.  Yes there it is Fear NO man even if he is wearing a hoodie! Hoodies do not equal Hoodlums- a person who engages in crime and violence; a hooligan or gangster.