Children Who Overcome

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Me

To be honest, I don't know who I am anymore. So many small minuet changes have taken place in my life, in my mind and my spirit that it feels wrong to even discuss them in this post. November 4, 2008 I started running. I haven't missed a day yet, and January 1, 2009, I will begin the New Year running a 5-K race. If you had asked me about this last October, I would have laughed.

I don't know what is happening to me. I know that I'm changing, and the strongholds of yesterday are past. Everything is much more clearer to me, and suddenly my confidence have soared through the roof. I know that much of this has to do with the fact that I now have my power back. The power I continued to hand over to every guy who ever molested me by feeling much more comfortable overweight than fit. I know much of this also has to do with the conversation I had with Khadija, when she spoke the truth about a black woman's interior and how it does not match up with the way the look on the outside. That comment spoke volumes to me.

The last ten years have led me to this place where I control almost every aspect of my life and there are moments during the day when this feeling of joy is uncontrollable.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Birthday, Greatness!

On Wednesday, November 26th, my oldest daughter became a teen-ager. That means thirteen years ago, I was alone in HUP hospital for about an hour before my mother, sister and her father came to show their support. Alone, for about a hour --about to give birth-- to my first child. But I wasn't scared as much as I was excited about starting a new chapter in my life. I remember not caring about who would show up, as long as the doctors and nurses were all capable of properly handling the birth. I asked the doctor (the one who would later give birth to my daughter) at least three times about his credentials. Personally, he seemed sort of amused at the questions but I was serious as all get out --and he answered every one. I wanted nothing to go wrong, and if (God-forbid) anything had, I needed to know that everyone involved were all on their "P's & Q's."

She was a healthy child, nursed until the age of one, co-slept until the age of six and after watching Earthlings last December, a vegetarian.

November 26th and she's a amazing young lady. Kind-hearted, intelligent, creative, funny, stubborn, willful, (I think you get the point.) For the last thirteen years, I have pumped into her what I grew up knowing nothing of. Nature, education, God and confidence, family, self-respect, self-pride, self-love.

Today, I celebrate her birthday. The day I gave birth to my dear daughter. I spoke to my womb today and remembered not being certain of what lay ahead but knew that I would always do whatever I had to in order to protect her. And I have kept my promise to her.

Happy Birthday, Greatness!