Tag: thankful

Full Circle

therapistsneedtherapytooLeave a comment

I hope everyone is doing well. It has been a stressful, rollercoaster past few weeks. As unorganized and all over the place as I have been, I am thankful that I am here. Still moving forward, still pushing, REFUSING TO BE DEFEATED!

As many of you know my mommy just had triple bypass surgery.  Yes, this is a major procedure. When she first told me, I have to admit I was taken aback. I immediately went into mommy protector mode. While trying to stay positive with my mommy,  I  began to prep and plan trying to get everything done before the date of her surgery. I did not want her to have to worry about anything. After I hung the phone with her I sat here at my desk wondering what I was going to do next.  First thing I did was ask God to watch over and heal my mommy. I explained to him how much I loved her and how much I needed her. I continuously prayed and prayed and anything trace of fear I initially had disappeared. I had to choose fear or faith. I chose faith.

With everything going on of course I started to reflect on the days of when my daddy was sick in the hospital. I honestly think God knew I was about to spiral down a never-ending rabbit hole of emotion with these thoughts. Instead I thought about the things my parents told me at some very difficult times in my life.  I narrowed it down to two for the sake of not writing a book.  (More to come in future posts!)

  1. I traveled home from Atlanta on a stormy day to visit with my daddy when he was in the hospital. This was actually one of the last visits I had with him before he passed away. So it took me a while to get there and when I did I was so tired and hungry. It’s like I can see his face now. When I walked in the room he smiled and said “hey baby!” I spoke and told him it took me forever to get there because it was storming. I told him I was hungry, but that I didn’t need to eat because I was fat. Daddy looked at me and said ” Landa you are not fat. I wish I looked like you right now. You are so beautiful.” Of course I told him ” I get it from my daddy!” We both laughed. You see, at the time my daddy had lost so much weight because he was sick, he didn’t look like himself. I grabbed his hand (which I just loved) and told him thank you and that I loved him.  There I was complaining about the way I looked and all he could see was his daughter that he loved and that loved him so much. That’s all that matters.
  2. I called my mommy one day like I try to do on a daily basis even if there is nothing going on. Well on that particular day, I was having a bad day. My feelings were hurt about work and my lack of a social life. I remember being at the point of tears. Just before a tear fell my mommy said to me,” Baby I wish you could see yourself through my eyes. You have no idea how wonderful you are.”  Of course many tears fell after that. When I got off the phone with my mommy all I could do is smile and thank God for her. She had no idea how what she said made me feel so much better.  Words from her mouth went straight to my heart.

I carry my parents with me daily. It doesn’t mean that I don’t mess up or make mistakes.  It means that God does not make mistakes. It means my parents belong to me and I to them. Even when we have had our WTF moments, rough spots and truly asking if there was a mix up at the hospital. I means I was, am and will always be loved by them, as I love them.

Things have a way of coming back full circle. I have been lucky enough to be with my parents during their times when they were vulnerable and sick. When they needed me most.  I use the word lucky because it is something I am more than happy to do.  They have taken care of me all of my life. The good, the bad and the ugly. Yes it has been ugly because no matter the ailment, I told my parents about it! LOL! I know as children we can never repay our parents for everything they have done, but it is nice to show them the unconditional love they have shown us.

The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia (Okay Just At My House!)

therapistsneedtherapytoo5 Comments

It was a glorious rainy afternoon in October and there was slight breeze in the air. Anyone that knows me, knows this is my absolute favorite time of the year. I was going to make the most out of this day. My plans included playing with my puppy Gambino, taking a hot shower, making a bite to eat, binge watching Brit Box while doing a bit of writing. This was a great day to be home or so I thought.  It was around 3 PM as I was stepping out of the shower all of a sudden my music stop playing.  Everything got quiet and the air conditioner faded. Initially, I didn’t give it a second thought. It was only raining hard outside. There was no thunder or lightening so surely it was just a glitch in the system. After I got dressed, I decided to take a nap because there was nothing else to do. I could cook, watch television and read once I woke up. I knew the power would be restored by then.

I woke up feeling like I had been asleep for days. Gambino was waking up and we sat there staring at each other, trying to figure out what to do next. It was so quiet and there was still no power. By that time, I was getting upset and hot. It was getting dark. I was hungry and  bored out of my mind. I called Georgia Power and was told they were aware of the outage and to keep calling back for updates. I was not ready to hear that. I immediately started pouting and complaining. ” Are you serious right now?” “It ain’t even doing anything outside!” “Man, I should’ve stayed in Alabama!” After the rant monologue, I lit candles and just sat down. I was lucky enough to have a portable charger, so I was able to listen to some music and play on social media. I sang every song in my catalogue  to Gambino until he finally ran under the couch. It was too hot to sleep. I was tired of singing and I just wanted to watch British television. I finally just sat there, mad at the world.  While I was sitting in my recliner, acting as if my world had come crashing down, a little voice told me to stop complaining and be thankful. But I didn’t want to be thankful, I wanted to a brat because my plans were ruined.  Reluctantly , I  re-evaluated my situation. It was raining outside, but I had shelter. There was no electricity, but I had candles and a flashlight. I could’ve read by candlelight. I was not able to cook, but I had food I could’ve eaten that was already prepared. I could’ve ordered in if I chose to. The air conditioner or fan was not working, but I could’ve opened up all of my windows as well as my patio doors. I felt bad about complaining. At least I knew I would have power at some point. The people in Puerto Rico not only don’t have power, but they don’t have anything. Everything they once knew is no longer there and they have no idea when things will get back to normal. There I was carrying on about a little power outage, when all I had to do was to look around and count my blessings. Sometimes we focus more on what we don’t have rather than being grateful for what we do have.  Things don’t always go as planned, but that’s okay. The power was eventually restored around 3:00 AM in the morning. What did I do once I had power? Turned off everything and went to bed.