Dear Diary: My Life Raising Brown Girls

Every day, I see a man or woman who is addicted to drugs and/or alcohol. Have you ever thought about what that person's life was like prior to being addicted to drugs and/or alcohol? So many times I often wonder what went wrong in their lives that caused them to turn to drugs and/or alcohol as a way to cope with life. Did they lose a their job? Did they lose a parent, a child or a spouse? They probably faced the same struggles we face on a daily basis. The difference is we were a little stronger to endure the storm. Maybe we had someone to hold our hand as we faced our problems. Perhaps someone to pray for us. Substance Addictions via alcoholism-and-drug-addiction-help Every morning, for almost two years I saw the same woman who was addicted to drugs. January 7, 2013 will forever stay in my mind because thats the day, I noticed she was pregnant. My heart felt for the unborn baby who would be born addicted to drugs. Months went by I saw her a few times, but she was not...

On Thursday, July 16, 2014, Tereya, Nyasia and I attended  Walking with Dinosaurs- the Arena Spectacular  at Barclays Center. The show was amazing. It was very educational, exciting, and entertaining. The show is not animated. It is a live theatrical show and the sound effects were amazing. It was told by the narrator Huxley, who walks us through the  Triassic Period ,  Jurassic Period,  and the  Cretaceous Period .  My girls before and during the show The  Triassic Period  occurred 248 million years ago and lasted about 42 million years. During this period there was one big continent called Pangea. It was located near the equator so the weather was always hot and dry. Sometime during the Triassic, the continent began to break. The Plateosaurus and Liliensternus are two of many dinosaurs that walked the earth prior to the mass extinction and volcano eruptions. The land before & after volcano eruptions Liliensternus ...

In life we all encounter obstacles and we all have different circumstances. Some individuals may have more obstacles, as well as an unusual set of circumstances than others. Unfortunately, the world is not going to treat you any different. You may come in contact with someone who is sympathetic to your situation, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter. It is a part of life, YOUR life. What matters is how you respond to those obstacles and circumstances. Are you going to lie down and die or are you going to do all you can to change your circumstances and overcome the obstacles in your path? In order to do so first you must acknowledge and become one with your circumstances. The key is not to dwell in them. Secondly, identify who or what is standing in your way. Truth be told, most of the time, you are the obstacle. You are standing in your way. This can be the result of fear, an unsupportive spouse, mate, friend and family. Finally, create a personal development plan (P...

This Thursday marks three weeks since NYC public schools have been dismissed for Summer vacation. In my previous post  Twerk A Book....Make Them Pages Clap  I stated a few reasons why it is important for our children to read during the Summer. I also posted links to a few Summer Reading Programs that offer incentives. I know reading is one of many important skills my daughters will learn and use throughout their life. It is imperative that my daughters retain all they learned during the school year. So, it is important that they read and practice their math skills every day. Nyasia was given a Summer break assignment that consists of a math and a reading assignment. The reading assignment consists of a book of her choice and the required book Tales of A Fourth Grade Nothing  by Judy Blum. She also has to write a book report for both books. As of to day, she has began reading her second book for this Summer. The title of the book is Judy Moody and The Not So...