Have you ever had a quiet moment of observation, and stopped dead in your tracks because you were simply in awe of what you had a chance to witness. Recently, I had this moment as I sat back and thought about some of the women around me. Usually, when I am in this moment of retrospect and reflection, I am trying to figure out why something went wrong, or why didn’t I say something or do something differently. But this time, I sat in quiet reflection of all that is right in around me. I sat in a place of awe, not because of anything I did, but because of things I had the privilege witnessing….the magic of the people around me.
I don’t do mushy, but I will shine a light on the fact that I have witnessed magnificence in people who would never call it magnificence themselves. I have seen so much resilience in a woman close to me who is about to reach a milestone of a 50 years on this planet. She is not perfect, but I don’t think she knows that I see her as one of the most perfect examples of a good human being. I’ve never seen her make an excuse, but I have seen her excuse a lot because she has far more grace in her heart than I do (I’m a work in progress). As she comes upon this milestone, I sat and thought about the mother she is, the sibling that she is, the daughter that she is, and the friend she is and I have concluded that she also has the spirit of doing too much! LOL! She buys a cake for everyone’s birthday (because she firmly believes you must have a cake for your birthday even if you don’t eat cake), she embarrasses her kids at functions with foghorns, tshirts, glasses, headgear, etc., if you need something, she’ll figure out how to get it, and she always wants to celebrate something or someone often at the expense of herself. Is this a bad thing? Nope. But lawwd, to sit on the other end of the phone listening to the outlandishness in process is a whole other thing! She’s a little extra…in all the ways that count. Does she always get it right? Nope. Has she made mistakes? Yes. But she keeps going and she keeps giving and I love that about her. She doesn’t make it a habit to rest in the mess. She is also a hell-raiser, but I am a bigger hell-raiser, especially when it comes to her, because she is in fact……my sister! As a child I suppose liked her enough, because she was my sister. But as an adult, I was able to understand why and that’s when she became my friend. I kinda love this chic! Note: this in no way means I will give her a hug or any form of affection…ijs
When it comes to some other women in around me, whewwww. I have seen the the slides and climbs, and guess what? I still stand in complete awe of all they have been, all that they are, and all that they have become! I stand in awe of my mother for obvious reasons…she is my mama and she still has her all of her hair despite of having to deal with a quintessential middle child (me), and she brought three kids into this world who turned out pretty good lol. I see steadfastness and devotion in the friend who just watched the last of her 3 kids graduate from college without skipping a beat herself, and I am in awe of her for many reasons. As she begins the job she so deserved, I see gratitude and fortitude in the friend who continued to climb even when she was being tripped along the way. As I think about my oldest niece, I have always been in awe of the courage she had to leave all that she knew to see a world beyond home. I don’t know if she knows how much I admired that in her, but I did and still do. Too often, we stick to what we know simply because we are afraid to expand our view.
As I think about my friend who just brought another bundle of joy into this world, I think about the strength she possessed, even when she was afraid. I see resolve and determination when I look at my little cousin who decided to return to college after four decades on this planet. That is completely bad @$$! She hates school, but was determined to make a change, and I stand in awe of all of that!
There are other super women who are dear to my heart. For the sake of this blog, I’ll mention a few and I will call them them Bulldog Baddies because either they went to THEE South Carolina State University or Burke High School…both are Bulldogs, both are the places from which I proudly hail. When I think of my friend who rose through the ranks, I stand in awe of her humility and intuitiveness, when I think of my friend who makes no apologies for her larger than life personality, I stand in awe of her philanthropic heart and her ingenuity as she continues to make a difference in many lives. I continuously stand in awe of the optimism constantly displayed from the friend I did not know I needed, the wisdom from the friend who sees everything, and faith I see in the friend that keeps on keeping on for the benefit of the greater good. I stand awe of the friend with the blinged out heart who is able to bring calm to calamity.
People come into your life or a reason, a season or a lifetime, and I think it’s pretty safe to say that these Bulldog Baddies will stand the test of time; and I stand in awe of them for so many reasons and I know that whenever and if ever they’re needed, they will show up. I can go on, but you get the picture.
Sometimes we get so caught up is wrong in our lives that that we don’t take the time to outwardly acknowledge all the people that make so much right. Perfection is not attainable but being a good person is, and I get to relish in the goodness of all of the women who surround me, even if they don’t recognize just how much they are seen exactly for who they are. I thank them for simply being.
It is not their role or their jobs that bring value to the lives of those around them, it is not the amount of clicks they have on social media, or their popularity; it’s their character! It is who they are that makes them everything they need to be where ever they may be, and I love them for that.
In this moment, I’m feeling a little bit nostalgic, and a little bit hopeful, because in these ladies, it’s never too hard to find the presence of light because theirs always shines, even when they don’t see their halo illuminate! I don’t know, I guess I felt like giving out “flowers” today; maybe you should too!
Song Reference: Good Job: Alicia Keys
Song Reference: Just Fine: Mary J. Blige
Life Is But A Song 