Gratitude For What The Years have Taught Me

01) Grateful that i don't have to go next door or down the street to borrow a cup of sugar or a stick of butter from Miss So and So.

02) Grateful that i don't have to clutch a "gently borrowed aka stolen from my aunt" brown food stamp (the equivalent of a dollar bill) to buy ten pieces of penny candy to get coin change for the candy lady. (Don't act like I was the only one! Besides her candy was cheaper. And if you're talking about the food stamp, you know you had them either way, cuz your grandmother or momma always wanted to help out Miss Such and Such!)

03) Grateful that i don't have to hear the crunch of thick plastic or feel the sticky sweat dripping down the back of my legs when i stand up after sitting on my sofa. (Don't act like I was the only one!)

04) Grateful that i don't have to go outside and "hose down" the chiller system to cool my house. a chiller system/water cooler was a form of air conditioning, you had to run water over the coils when they dried.

05) Grateful that i don't have to go down the street to the candy lady for a strawberry ice cup, 'cuz i didn't have enough money for the snow cone truck.

06) Grateful that when i did have enough money for the snow cone truck, i don't have to get a cherry twin popsicle and share with my cousin 'cuz he didn't have any money.

07) Grateful that i don't have to get used Levi Garrett snuff placed on wasp stings, "dog mange" in my hair or some other homemade concoction placed anywhere near my body when I don't feel well. (Don't act like it was just me!)

08) Grateful that i don't have to go inside when the street lights come on.

09) Grateful that i don't have to sit still like a little lady when i dress up.

10) Grateful that i don't have to sit on the hard floor for what seemed like forever getting my hair braided or pressed every saturday night.

11) Grateful that i don't have to close the refrigerator door 'cuz "the content ain't gone talk no time soon and they're not gonna change no matter how long you stare at it!".

12) Grateful that if i want a hamburger, it don't have to have a home made one on toasted wonder bread with the crust torn off! (Don't act like i was the only one!)

13) Grateful I don't have to come in the other room to change the channel, get a glass of water, or bring me_____, a million times when my favorite show was on tv!

BONUS: Grateful that i don't have to hear, "you need to go in there and study, you don't have the hands or the body to do any hard work, and you to damn scary to be a criminal."

EXTRA BONUS: Grateful that i don't have to eat government grilled cheese sandwiches or that oily ass peanut butter on crackers for snacks while sitting on the floor at my cousin's watching project terror. (don't act like that grilled cheese wasn't good!)

SPECIAL EXTRA BONUS: Grateful that in Elementary School when the Wiseman twins and their friends wanted to beat up Ronnie and Leslie Johnson on the way home after school, I saw the first can come flying down the hill and heard the bottle break in the middle of the street. It was the beginning of an illustrious career through high school as a sprinter. I became one of the fastest runners in our neighborhood and at the time of graduation I was ranked 6th in class 5A (big schools) hurdles and a member of 400 and 800 meter relays both top 10 in the Great State of Texas BABY! No I went to college for volleyball and academics (that not working hard thing stuck!)

I loved my childhood. No matter how difficult or painful it may have been at times. I lost so many family members because I grew up with my great grand and her siblings from age five to eleven. I was always around old people and oh my gosh the wealth of knowledge and pride you obtain from that experience. After my great grand died, I couldn't wait to be an adult because my childhood just wasn't the same.. I am eternally grateful for these bitter sweet lessons of gratitude. I'm happy that I don't have to do these things anymore. I was a good student and I paid attention to my village's lessons. But man these are some DAMN good memories. They taught me so much about life. I guess what I am most thankful for today is: my great grand, grand, and aunts who taught me to want and to do better! And my mother's memory, Mom, just can't bear to let you or the name you so thoughtfully gave me down. Today I pray that anyone who reads this or shares it with another human being embraces their past, and makes a commitment to just do and be better.

'til we meet again. salama.