An Eco-Friendly Party…I Tried!
All of you Jasiri readers who’ve read this post know that I was trying to throw an eco-friendly birthday party for Nia. Well I tried my best but as life typically has it, not everything went according to plan. The primary stumbling block was in trying to obtain the disposable plates and cups that I wrote about in the last post. Come to find out, Aha-Yes! only delivers locally. I added the products I wanted, and when I went to check out they wanted me to choose the location where I would pick up my purchase. What! I’m in NC, I want an eco-friendly party but not enough to travel to California to pick up disposable plates and cups.
I didn’t want people bringing lots of toys as gifts, ’cause goodness knows we have enough in this house! So I offered low-cost suggestions. Most people gave clothes, which was great since a huge box of Nia’s clothes was destroyed recently (long, disgusting story for another post). Then there were the decorations. None really, but I did have balloons. You gotta have balloons!
Continue reading ‘Nia’s 1st Birthday Celebration’
I have to get my video camera fixed so I can record some of the funny mess that goes on in this house. My daughter and niece crack me up! When they see each other for the first time after being apart all day, they just look at one another and begin laughing hysterically. I’m talking serious giggle fits that go on, and on, and on…
So about the title of this post. You may be saying to yourself, “So what does she call you? Mommy? Mama? Ma?” Nope. She calls me Day-day. Yep! Day-day. At first I thought she was trying to say da-da. Then I thought no she’s not attempting the word daddy, because that word is practically non-existent around here. I refer to her father as baba, and that’s what my niece calls her daddy too. So I’m thinking, maybe its just a sound that all babies make — mama, dada, googoo, gaga. Nope. Day-day means something because it isn’t random. She most often looks straight at me when she says it. Then it hit me. She’s calling me by my name, Dara (pronounced day-ruh, i guess that would be the phonetic spelling). You see, my niece calls me Aunty Day-day, and she says it like a million times a day. So I guess Nia picked up on it. So now I’m day-day to her. Not ma-ma, she rarely uses the word. I’ve heard her say it a few times. Not a big problem. But I’m wondering if I should try to discourage her from calling me day-day. What do you think?
We’re 2 weeks into 2008, and I think i’m still gassy from all the black-eyed peas I’ve eaten over the past couple of weeks. Hope my finances don’t suffer this year becuase I didn’t eat the traditional collard greens. I know I had a heaping helping last year, and I’ve never been as broke as I was in 2007. Being broke is no fun, and I vow to never be in that state again.
I feel a headache coming on as I think back on 2007. Coming out of 2006, I was on a high, what a great year! I was driving through a valley in 2007, lots of low points. I felt insane because these low points were often experienced in tandem with joyous moments. Up and down, up and down all year long.
Although 2007 was stressful, back-breaking, extremely tough, the year was one of tremendous growth for me. The biggest lessons: I need to change my thinking, and I need to trust that where I am and what I’m going through is exactly where I need to be and what I need to be experiencing to continue my spiritual and personal growth. Because as I’ve said before, I get better with age. Like a fine wine! And I’m not gonna let a few mishaps or people who don’t have my best interest in mind, derail me on my journey to love and happiness.
No resolutions this year. My primary goal (i left this comment on a MommyDaddyBlog post:
the past few months of my life have been so hectic. i want to be able to step away from all the stress, and just feel so free in her presence.
just trying to slow things down, and appreciate what’s most important in my life.
Happy New Year to all of the Jasiri readers.
So Glad My Brother is Not a Statistic
We all want to be loved.
Imagine if you were never loved, what type of person you would be?
Perhaps like Lawrence Alvin Lovette, Jr. or Demario James Atwater.
I don’t know really.
Don’t presume to know what kind of life they’ve led — in just 17 and 21 years respectively.
So sad.
How can we ever claim freedom if crimes such as these continue to flourish in the U.S.?
This case is just one of the many atrocities that’s played out in the very public sphere in recent years.
I am so sick of it.
School shootings,
Rapes,
Murders…
And this is not a black problem, or a white problem.
This is an American problem.
That’s my brother pictured above. With the way he dresses, I know some people automatically prejudge him as a thug or gangsta. Fortunately my brother has not succumbed to the stereotype that is so often assigned to black males. He is such a thoughtful and kind person. And an excellent father to his 4-year-old son. He is an excellent male role model for my daughter.