Aggie Mom With Ram Blood…

…Is what Janel says will be on my next pair of Earbobz since we both love WSSU despite Michai enrolling at NCAT, but my pair yesterday represented a journey I couldn’t have imagined.

I envisioned my sister being married with kids while I traveled the world as a travel nurse. My sister IS married with bonus children, I have traveled but not as a travel nurse, and that’s partly because I became a mother right out of college.

Motherhood has been an incredible journey! A journey that ain’t for the weak and one that absolutely must include a Kijiji/Village. Old and new villagers from far and near were present to celebrate Michai’s graduation yesterday. It’s going to take us (I’m us 🙋🏾‍♀️) a few days to recover from all that transpired, but I had to get some things off my chest before I forgot.

1. I didn’t realize the importance of acknowledging/encouraging parents during this time. Yes, the kids do the work, but to hear people say they are proud of me with examples of things I’ve done as a parent that I’d forgotten has meant the world to me! Thank you to those who kept me lifted and lifted me yesterday as it did not go unnoticed.

2. Michai exerts his feelings/emotions mainly in actions instead of words. The fact that he FaceTimed me before the ceremony started to make sure my mother was in place and feeling okay told me a lot about how he was feeling. He also didn’t say much at his gathering but remained alert to not miss anything. If I know him as well as I think I do, he will be sharing thoughts about yesterday, in no particular order, from now until well after he leaves.

3. UTILIZE YOUR RESOURCES! I was proud of myself for asking for help, but I didn’t ask for enough help when it came to the small details. I got a little overwhelmed because I already don’t like asking, but I hate lying more, so I felt bad when I learned I needed more from my friends than I originally requested. The friends inserted themselves and their gifts from invitations/thank you cards, cookies, their presence when they lead extremely busy lives, making sure fresh flowers were on the table and guests were greeted with a smile, keeping up with my phone because I kept laying it down, taking a little person to the bathroom, not being too good to vacuum or take the trash out, sending money and encouraging words just because, making sure I had a good cocktail, their whole family showing up despite their son graduating in a few hours…I could go on and on and ON. As tired as I am now, I can’t imagine how I would be feeling had I declined their offers.

3. Offer people space to be themselves! Not everyone enjoys large crowds and I wanted everyone to be comfortable yesterday instead of sacrificing themselves for Michai. If that meant they didn’t sit with us, if they left immediately after it was over, or if they opted to not come at all and saw/talked to us later…as long as they were comfortable. That’s with the exception of my dad who shouted about the Black National Anthem not being played, and he and my uncle being upset about there being two Valedictorians (I was too until my aunt, who’s also a retired principal, explained the situation).

4. The LJVM Coliseum staff were so accommodating!!! Way more accommodating than any other event I attended there. They were intentional in their asks and went above and beyond to make sure each attendee was comfortable.

5. The thoughtfulness behind Michai’s gifts has blown my mind. My aunt flew from Miami and had a terrible time getting here because of flight delays. Bless her heart…she has so much of my grandmother in her and had the nerve to pull me to the side to apologize for not having time to get a card to put Michai’s gift inside 🙄. I almost cussed but made sure to tell her how much her presence meant. Her husband stayed home because he’s aging and the flight cost wasn’t worth it, but remember I said how Michai will be periodically sharing his thoughts? He just asked, “Why didn’t Uncle Charles come, is he okay?” Michai has been itching to get to the credit union all day, but not before having a conversation about financial responsibility he did NOT want to hear. He says he’s anxious to do it because he wants to make sure his money is safe, and by safe I think he means to make sure I don’t take little by little and hide it. I will neither confirm nor deny that thought 👀🤷🏾‍♀️.

6. As I type this, I am receiving a reminder about my car payment being due soon. In other words, reality will always find its way back 🙄.

7. I still like odd numbers so…CONGRATULATIONS TO THE ENTIRE CLASS OF 2022 and THANK YOU to the Mount Tabor High School staff, students and families. I don’t like all of them and all of them don’t like me, but every encounter has been a lesson to help get Michai to this point. I’m incredibly proud of his journey and although Michai doesn’t say much he makes sure to thank me for following my spirit to enroll him at Mount Tabor instead of West Forsyth 🤢😂!!! Class of 1999 and now 2022…SPARTAN PRIDE!!!

Day 2,340 of 2,340 days of school…

WE MADE IT!!!