Be an inspiration!.....

I was just reading the blog of a friend of mine who recently relocated to Japan! Yep, she just up and moved ( no, it's never that simple or that easy), but the gist is that she had some friends over there, wanted to take the bull by the horn, got into school, bid a difficult farewell to her family and friends and moved! She's been blogging about the experience and it sounds amazing! YES, SHE'S INSPIRED ME! No, not to move to Japan or any foreign country for that matter. She's inspired me... to do me; to make any necessary changes to get to where I want to be; to do that thing that may not be the easiest or most popular; to take inventory of my life and decide...who, when, where and how (yes, the consummate journalist)! The best part of being inspired by my friend's blog is that...it wasn't her intention. She was simply being the person she was created to be! Living life and sharing the good! I'm encouraged to do that and be that for someone in my life. How about you....are you ready to...be an inspiration?!

Note: Her blog is japanthroughmylens.blogspot.com
Enjoy!

So you say you want a man.....well, he's yours for the taking!

I'm probably on a tangent-slash-borderline-soapbox because I just came back from a getaway weekend with my husband; we're celebrating our 3rd year anniversary. I had time to reflect, look within, dream, fantasize, imagine...be thankful.
When I wasn't married, I too sang the anthem of many of my single friends and family...."I want a man in my life...a companion...a partner...someone to share my dreams with...to travel with....to grow with...I want a husband"! I sang it, and from family members to girlfriends to women I hardly even know....the song is the same. I know what the statistics say (they're not good). I've seen what's been written regarding single women over 40 (particularly black women) and the odds against them getting married. I GET IT....I REALLY DO....(yes, this is where the BUT comes).....BUT, he's out there if you really want him and are willing to compromise...YOU HEARD SETTLE....I said compromise. Girl, I have seen your list...Jesus isn't good enough for you. I mean, you need the list, but you don't need to adhere to it so sternly. Be flexible...YOU HEARD SETTLE...I said be flexible. Before I married my husband, there were things about him that weren't on my list. What, you ask? Well, without putting my husband out there, suffice it to say, we're still working on some of the things from that list. But, I saw many things about him that I did like and eventually grew to love. Be open to letting your list guide you... not hold you hostage!
And you have to get out there. I know...a man who findeth a wife...which translates to many of you that you don't need to be out "looking for a man". Many of you don't believe in initiating, especially if he's going to be more than a date or worse, a one night stand (YES, SOME OF YOU ARE STILL HAVING THOSE). Well, don't initiate, but get out so he can initiate with you. I'm not talking about clubbing necessarily...go to jazz night at the local talent sampler. Go to the bookstore, order a coffee drink and sit a while. Go to a friends house for their next soiree. Host a soiree at your house and ask each single girl to invite a single guy. Just be open to meeting someone when you're out. It happens even at the grocery store or the cleaners or the bank. Take advantage of the small talk that will go by quickly and leave you wondering what you should have said. Guys know the numbers and they know they have the upper hand in that regard, but like I always say, it only takes one to make a difference in your life. Be open to him. Pray and make your request known to God, put the energy out there when you go out, and expect him. Even if you believe there are no men out there, amend that to believe that there are no men out there other than the one that's out there for you. DON'T WORRY ABOUT YOUR SINGLE SISTERS. They, too, are praying and expecting. It will work out! Be open to who it might be, how it might happen and even how you might feel at first. Then accept that the man who doesn't fit your list and isn't as "fill in the blank" as you had hoped...might be your huzzzband:o)...and go out with him at least twice. Go for a coffee or wine at first because anybody can sit through a drink. Then if you make it through that, go out for a lengthier date and make magic (don't wait for it to happen to you). Be proactive (that's watch as well as pray for my Christian sisters). And if you are doing nothing and it's happening for you, tell me how you did it. For the rest, enjoy and be active in your singleness because the dynamics change once you're married (blog for a later time)...and if you want a man like you say....trust and believe that he's yours for the taking!


***I'd love your feedback either way....if it's too hard to comment on this page, email me at lenitaywesson@gmail.com or post a comment on my Yvonne Williams Facebook wall***

What a Year!

When I left work on Friday, January 8th of last year, I knew I'd be a mom before the weekend was over...and so it was! The contractions started first thing the morning of the 9th. They were mere cramps so of course I'd continue with my day as planned. That morning I had a "Mocha Moms" interest meeting. Dale drove me to the meeting around 10 and picked me up shortly after noon. All the while, I'm having contractions periodically; nothing too elaborate but enough to know...We went to lunch at a new buffet place in Tallahassee. I had some meat loaf and lima beans...I would later learn why that was a huge mistake. It was about 3 that afternoon by the time we got home and the intensity began. We got our stopwatch and started timing the length of the contractions and how often they were coming. Well, by the time they got to be 15 minutes apart, it was about 5 o'clock. We decided it was time to go to the hospital. Dale grabbed my bag and I grabbed my pillow and purse and we were off. It was starting to hurt! When we arrived at the the hospital, the contractions seemed to be closer together but they still weren't lasting too long. In any case, I knew they wouldn't send me home at this point. They checked us into a room and we made some calls to let family know it was happening. I called my two coaches...my niece, Ty, and my daughter, Galen. I changed clothes, put on my comfy socks and let nature take its course. Fast forward through 6 hours of intense contractions, some laps around the labor and delivery floor, the Diary of a Mad Black Woman, the reckoning of the meatloaf and lima beans, some major fatigue and we're at midnight. At that point, the doctor had to break my water which still didn't get me to dilate at the rate we'd hoped for. I suffered through another 7 hours to a shift change and a dose of pitocin...which made all the difference! The contractions became fierce and baby was ready (at that time, I still didn't know whether it was Grace or Miles) but it would only be another hour or so before the doctor was in position. Push down....that's it.... you're doing good (as CeCe Winans' Throne Room blared in the background).... Ok....rest and when you feel another contraction....Push....I see the head.... You're almost there....Ok...you're going to feel what we call the ring of fire....just push through it and the hardest part will be over. OMG...Push...I see why they call it the ring of fire....It's Grace! Sunday, January 10, 2010 9:53 a.m., 7 lbs.1 oz., 19 3/4 inches.
Nursing and crying and sleeping and growing and rolling over and crawling and cooing and getting on a schedule and not getting on a schedule and sitting up and spitting up and pulling up and growing up and clapping and waving and winking or blinking and smiling and melting my heart and kissing and hugging and cruising and walking and....WHEW....What a Year!

Another photo album by Smilebox

It's True What They Say...It Goes By Fast

In the spirit of "blogging", I'm sitting here thinking about the errands I need to run to get ready for Grace's first birthday celebration.  No, I'm not "going all out"; I'm much too practical for that. But, I am going to mark the occasion for her and for us.  I read in one of my many parenting resources that Dale and I should also celebrate our first year of her life.  Well, I keep looking at pictures from then until now,  and I'm amazed at how much she's grown and developed.  January 10, 2010 she entered the world, and as is the proverbial saying, my life changed forever.  She's gone from sleeping and crying and eating and starting the cycle over again to cooing and crawling and walking and downright navigating her way through her space in this world.  I'm blessed and excited to be planning her first birthday celebrtion and her future and the rest of her life :o) Isn't that what mothers do?!  She's still sleeping which is the ONLY reason I'm blogging this early in my day, but I was having this moment of Grace :o) and it hit me that it's true what they say about enjoying every minute and not taking any moments for granted because time...life...it goes by fast. Grace is calling(calling, crying...it adds up to the same thing)....moment over!