Dear Diary: My Life Raising Brown Girls

In less than one hour 2014 will be over. This year I was tested a lot. I often fell to my knees in prayer. My faith was tested to the maximum. There were times when I wanted to throw in the towel and end it all. You see Satan (the devil) was working overtime. He was coming at me from every angel. Every time I overcame one hurdle he threw another one in front of me.  I had to go back and forth to court with my daughters father which left me drained. Co-parenting is already a difficult task. It is even more difficult when the noncustodial parent refuses to communicate. It is more difficult when the noncustodial parent communicates through the child. It is very difficult when the noncustodial parent does not know or refuses be cordial. I had to withdraw from college. Her father stated "I can't watch her on the weekends". My response was, you are not "watching her" because she is your child. So as a result I withdrew. I have so much to say about this, but I wil...

Liar, Liar by Latrese Carter is consumed with secrets, lies, deceit, disrespect and infidelity. Childhood friends Stormy Knight and Camden Brooks paths crossed again when Camden decided to move from New York City back to his hometown. Camden Brooks came from a very good home. His father (Reverend Brooks) and mother were Pastor and First Lady of a well know church. As a result of this, Camden was labeled a church kid and everyone expected him to live and behave in a certain manner. Eventually, Camden could no longer live with the pressure of being the son of a pastor. So when it was time for him to apply to college he decided he would go to school out of state. This would allow him to reveal who he "really"was. As time passed they began to date and their relationship was going very well. At least this is what Stormy believed until a secret is revealed to her that will change her life forever. She had no idea that she was being used in what Camden thought was a great scheme. ...

Via Live Rich Live Well Being a mother, a daughter, a sister, a professional and a friend can be very stressful. How often have you found yourself saying, "I wish I had more hours in the day" or "I wish I had a moment  for myself". As parents, we all find ourselves wishing we had more hours during the day and time for ourselves. I lead a very busy life and I never seem to have time for myself. It's not easy being a single mother who has to juggle working a full time job, attending college courses, maintaining a household, returning phone calls, caring for and giving attention to my two daughters and significant other. The only time I can get at least 30 minutes of uninterrupted "me time" is when I take my bath. Lately, this has been impossible. Creating more "me time" is not at the top of my to do list, but it is on my to do list.  There are times when I get "a break" but I do not consider it "a break". Reason be...

Today is my mothers birthday. I wrote this on my facebook page as a tribute to my mother. I decided to share it with you all. My mother has been through a lot during her life. She was a teen mom, but she never let it deter her from doing any thing. She finished high school and enrolled in the U.S. Army. She stubmled upon a few bumps in the road. She even fell a few times, but she never stayed down. She always managed to get back up.I am so grateful that the Lord has blessed my mother to see another year. I am grateful that I as well as my sister, brother and her grandchildren have her in our lives another day.  To be a mother at 16 was not an easy task I am sure you were frightened and did not know what to do,  You probably cried day and night, but you had to see this journey through My father said I was not his and for both you and me it was a horrible day Unlike him, you did not have the option to turn and walked away Nine months later I entered the world They...

Someone shared a video on my facebook page about a Chicago homeless man named Ronald Davis  (click his name to view his interview). I then proceeded to view a  video about a homeless man named  Maurice Johnson , who is 55 years old and is from Cleveland, but resides in Boston. He has  2 Masters Degrees (in Plasma Physics and Electrical Engineering and Acoutsics; click his name to view his interview).  As I watched these interviews it brought tears to my eyes and prompted me to write this post.  Why are so many people homeless in America? What can we as a nation instead of being judgmental? We don't know their story. We don't know the things they have gone through. We are all a paycheck away from being homeless. There are times my job annoys the heck out of me, but I thank God I have one so I can provide for my family. I recall the day on the train, I gave my food to a man on the train and he threw it away when he went to the next car. I was pissed. ...

It was a cold February day. I recall being at work and talking to my friend/coworker "Medina". I told her that my menstrual cycle was late and I needed to go to Duane Reade during lunch. That day I took a total of four pregnancy test. I needed to make sure because of a previous experience I had with her sister Tereya. When I was pregnant with Tereya, I  also took three test. The results were not accurate. One was positive, two were negative and finally a positive blood test. There is no need for me to elaborate, we all know how the story ended. Lol! September 8th, is a very special day. God blessed me with my second daughter one decade ago today. I remember that night as if it were yesterday. If it were up to the ER physician, Nyasia would have been born in the elevator or the sidewalk. My Ob/Gyn was performing a c-section and he barely made it in time to deliver my baby. Dr. Kuno handed me this little tiny baby with the big beautiful eyes. She was born at 12:56am...

Thirty-seven years ago today, I blessed the world with my presence. I do not make a fuss of my birthday because I do the same thing every year. NOTHING! I do not plan anything because it is around the time school begins. My daughter's birthday is also a few days later. Those events are far more important. So as a result, I do not do anything . Now that I think about it, in all of my years on this earth I have never had a birthday celebration that consisted of my friends and my family. I have had  intimate gatherings. Each one I had consisted of my immediate family only. This is also because I don't consider everyone I know or associate with my friend. .  After doing a lot of reflecting, I noticed that I have never celebrated anything that I have accomplished in my adult life. So, I have decided that I will create my very own holiday where I celebrate me and all that I have accomplished in my life thus far. So, I wish myself a Happy Birthday to me. God bless me...