Weekend at a glance: the cooper wedding #64

The highlight of my weekend was being able to witness the nuptials of two of my friends. But, not without some pre-wedding drama. If you were in Atlanta this weekend, you experienced the monsoon winds and incessant rain. I was already running a little late to the wedding. My GPS noted that I was only five miles away from my destination. But not before I got into a fender bender with a white Mercedes-Benz. At that point, I was absolutely ready to burst in tears. Just two months ago on a rainy night, someone hit me from behind. And now, on a rainy day, I hit someone from behind. Just my luck.

My mood was completely ruined. I texted one of my friends letting her know what happened and that I would not attend the wedding. Long story short, after exchanging insurance information and shooing off the officer, I was able to attend the wedding. I’m so glad I did!

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Weekend at a glance: the 28th year #63

I can’t say that celebrating my birthday is something I enjoy doing. Most times, something bad always happens. But this year, I really did enjoy myself and my company.

In the midst of my “loner” moments, I forget how much love I have surrounding me. And it’s the little things that matter to me the most: the time spent and the memories. It’s the things that money cannot buy.

I’m so very grateful to the few people who came out and celebrated with me. The new and the old friends. I really appreciate you all. Thanks for the memories. XoXo.

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One night in a cafe

She couldn’t remember the last time she sat this close to a man and felt anything. This was nice. This felt different, comforting and familiar. Men rarely impressed her but his silent confidence piqued her interest. This was good, yeah.

Sitting side by side, they chatted about random things like old friends. Her head gently brushing his shoulder every once in a while. All of a sudden, without thinking twice, she decided to make a move. Slowly, she twisted her neck up to meet his face. She kissed his cheek. Something tender, short and sweet. But to her surprise, he aimed for her lips. And right there, in a corner of a cafe, they kissed like it was their last first kiss. Passionately, hungrily.

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Just another post about love

I was a peculiar child. I didn’t smile at much, nor laugh at much. I was content with going to the library with my empty grocery bag and loading up on new books for my library at home. All I did was read and write in my journal everyday. It wasn’t until I reached middle school that boys even crossed my mind.

I had my first boyfriend when I was 12. He was awesome. We kissed every chance we got at school. It was the best infatuation ever. But he had a bad temper. Everyone labeled him as a bad boy so he had to go away.

My next boyfriend was when I was 18. Best boyfriend ever. Very sweet and very attentive. He was my best friend. But he got in trouble with the law. Everyone labeled him as a bad boy so he had to go away.

After that, I didn’t want any more boyfriends. I wanted to party and really express myself in college. But, I ended up with one anyway at the age of 20. I would say I was infatuated with him on and off for about six years before things became official. It lasted all of three months. He lied a lot. He had to go away too because he was a bad boy.

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I am remembering love

I think about love everyday. Not just being in love but the expression of love. I like to watch people in love. I like to observe how a couple interacts with one another. How their eyes twinkle when their partner says something cute. Or how they roll their eyes when their partner says something corny. One of the greatest expressions of love (to me) is in the movie Love Jones.

Synopsis:

Poet and writer, Darius Lovehall (Lorenz Tate), meets and falls for Nina Moseley (Nia Long), a photographer. From the very beginning, their union was filled with passion. They attended poetry sessions and talked about love and sex.  It seemed perfect but of course there were loose ends. Eventually, they reached a point in their relationship where they needed to define what they were and what they were doing.

“I mean, we’re just friends, right? We’re just kicking it, right?”

Of course there was mistrust and games and all the other things that no one aspires to have in a relationship. I wouldn’t recommend seeing this film in hopes of receiving a complicated love like it. But the emotions were undeniable. That’s what I remember. Something I could feel.

I don’t want to spoil the movie for you (stop watching the video below at minute 8:00 if you don’t want to know how it ends) but pay attention to the expressions.  I see admiration, urgency, desire, care and love. I mean, even if it was just acting, that was some damn good acting.

I AM REMEMBERING LOVE

It is the color of light
the shape of sound high in the evergreens
it lies suspended in hills
a blue line in a red sky
I am looking at sound
I’m hearing the brightness of high bluffs and almond trees
I am tasting the wilderness of lakes, rivers, and streams
caught in an angle of song
I am remembering water that glows in the dawn
the motion tumbled in earth
life hidden in mounds
I am dancing a bright beam of life
I am, remembering love.
- Sonja Sanchez
How do you remember love?
ml

Why complicate life?

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Sounds simple, right? But why do we make it so hard? Why do we get so scared? I came across this tweet the other day and totally agreed the young lady.

“At what point did things become so complex between men and women that asking simple questions warrant intense fretting and self-doubt?”

Like, really. We create these scenarios in our heads instead of just communicating with one another. Are we afraid that the answers we’ll receive won’t be the ones we want to hear? Are we afraid of rejection? Are we afraid of the truth?

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m an undercover over-lover. I just feel everything and I want that same feeling returned. It’s terrifying and exciting at the same time. But it’s the uncertainty that I don’t like. It makes being vulnerable difficult. It makes expressing what I want and how I want it an arduous task.

But what do I know. I’m just an emotional girl, eating a burrito and ice cream and drinking my very last glass of wine. Pray for my insides.

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I’m in a glass case of emotion!

this chat is brought to you by myself and a spirited Cancer friend…and the letter E, for emo. warning: mature language below.
me:  do you find it hard to reel in emotions, as a Cancer?
friend:  …as i’ve gotten older and a little better at understanding myself, i think that i go thru a wide range of emotions very fast, and if i’m not careful, they may all come out at once
me:  yikes
friend:  i find that i have to make a conscious effort to look at things logically rather than emotionally, but on the flip side my intuition (which may not be purely emotion based but plays a part).. my intuition hardly EVER is wrong. I may be really mad at something, but laugh and make a joke about something else then a little later cry about some completely different situation.  BUT i’ve learned that i dont have to make excuses for my emotions. If something hurts my feelings or upsets me, that’s just what it is and I shouldn’t feel bad about that.  some ppl who are overly emotional or sensitive prob shouldnt take that stance but i think it works for me
me:  i think….growing up as someone who has always bottled emotions, dealing with them at this point in my life is a huge challenge. i’m like what the fuck is this??? TEARS??? what am i supposed to do with this?! i’m totally undone. and for no real reason other than i’ve bottled things in for so long. like i legit have tears in my eyes right now. why? because i wrote the word ‘tears’.
friend:  i’m a bottler too actually.  I mean I cry, but actually going in depth about my issues as they develop, i suck at that, i dont think its good to be a bottler, but i also think you should be selective on who you open up to. some people will judge you if you’re too transparent and i hate that, i also hate when you open up to ppl and they stare at you and act like they’ve never been thru what you’re going thru.  even though you know for a fact that their situation was the same if not worse but they look at you like you’re a poor unfortunate soul, i cant.
me:  that’s kinda heartless.  i’ve acknowledged a few years ago that it isn’t good to bottle things in. i’ve allowed myself to “feel” and it’s an interesting experience to say the least. i just need more control over them. or maybe i can just read my damn tattoo and let it be.
friend:  please feel. i strongly encourage it actually. i think more people should feel. be vulnerable and feel comfortable in that vulnerability.  you should never have to apologize for your feelings, they’re yours and you’re grown
me:  it’s just foreign territory. but i’m learning to accept it
friend:  please do. i mean we all have to learn the other side of the fence. I bet you try to look at things logically. thats foreign territory to me! but i think its beneficial to everyone involved when i take that extra step and say “hey, emo girl WANTS to burn this bitch to the ground, but LOGICAL girl should prob just tell him ‘hey i saw all those hoes in your phone, i’m leaving’ ” see, it works. i say that to say, if you explore the other side of the fence, it’ll open up more options for you… i think
me:  lol!!! emo girl is funny
friend:  welll, what are you gonna do about your bottled up emos??
me:  i’m just trying to figure out how to put them to good use without letting them consume me. cuz right now, i’m drowning.
friend:  i would suggest writing but you already do that… i think you need something physical then, like exercise or kick boxing or something.  something extremely physical, but not like sex.. trust me, i’m a doctor.
me:  LMAO. it’s what i want tho….but i agree
friend:  have you been feeling like this for a while, or does it feel like it all just got dumped on you at once or was it gradual?
or is it something that you’ve just always had and now you wanna free yourself!  ”Free your mind and the rest will follow” thats the realest shit she dun EVA SAID
me:  lol…just the last two years.
friend:  I get that. Well to get different results you gotta do things you’ve never done before.  Something substantial. it may be hard but it may just be what you gotta do
me:  yup. all that i’ve realized. it’s just weird. but i’m evolving!
friend:  good! thats the great part about life. growth and change!
me:  hey. do i have your permission to use some of this conversation in a blog post. i won’t reveal your identity. i can call you a “spirited Cancer”
friend:  lol absolutely!
So here’s the deal. For the past two years I’ve felt like I’ve completely lost control over my emotions. Not everyday. Maybe once every other month. It all depends on my diet, my relationships, movies I watch, and music I listen to. On those days, I wake up feeling like Ron Burgundy. Actually, I’ve never cried like that but it’s only a matter of time because I’m literally a time bomb waiting to explode.
I guess I can say it all started when I decided to love fully and completely a few years back. Everything went straight to hell from there. Kidding…but not really. Fast forward past heaven and hell and into this present moment. I just can’t. How does everyone deal with emotions on a regular basis??? I see babies and old people, I tear up. Happy movie, sad movie, I sniffle. Books I read, waterfalls. Love, I’m a mess. But you’d only know these things about me through this blog. I would never show it in public.
“Spirited Cancer” says I should continue to feel but this is dreadful. Or maybe it would be some kind of wonderful if I had more control. Fuck. Maybe this is just the way life is supposed to be. If so, I hereby concede to my emotions for today. So here’s how I’m feeling. I woke up this morning and my president was still Black. Today I also celebrate my thirteenth anniversary of living in Atlanta. I just ate hot wings for lunch and licked two out of five fingers. I may not exactly have a hold on my emotions just yet but hell, I’m gonna ride this bitch out.
“So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I’m still trying to figure out how that could be.” -The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Love yourself

I was reading The Daily Love this morning and the topic was about love, of course. In the post entitled ‘Do You Know What Love Is?, they define love as “UNCONDITIONAL acceptance of what is”. They go on to say that “ if we can’t accept something as it is, it’s VERY difficult to change or transform it.” And transformation is essentially the goal. When you love yourself enough to accept your flaws, you love yourself enough to work on changing them. The love must be there.

The idea is to ACCEPT how you are with NO changes. This is the starting point of transformation.

This is the part of the post that I really like: application.

We are asked to complete a phrase mentioning one (or more) of our perceived flaws. What is the one thing that you will learn to accept about yourself today? I’ll start.

“Even though I _____________, I completely and totally love myself.”

• Even though I am an emotional wreck, I completely and totally love myself.

• Even though I drool when I’m extremely tired and make my pillow stink, I completely and totally love myself. :)

• Even though I care too much sometimes, I completely and totally love myself.

• Even though I can be very lazy, I completely and totally love myself.

• Even though I over think and over analyze everything, I completely and totally love myself.

• Even though I worry, I completely and totally love myself.

• Even though I have moments of insecurity, I completely and totally love myself.

• Even though I doubt, I completely and totally love myself.

• Even though I am irrational and bull-headed at times, I completely and totally love myself.

Whew!!!!!!

Now, it’s your turn. Be honest with yourself.

Weekend at a glance – family #48

First of all, I’d like to thank you all of YOU for reading my little ole blog. Seriously. I hit over 50K views over the weekend. I’m sure that doesn’t mean anything to you but it means a lot to me. I’ve only been seriously blogging for two years and I’ve come a long way. I’m never satisfied so more fine tuning to come! ^___^

Last weekend, I spent some time with family in South Florida. I have a ridiculously large family. There’s never enough time in a visit to spend with everyone but what can you do.

At one of the rest stops, I saw this AMAZING bouquet in the restroom of all places. That was definitely the cleanest rest stop I’ve ever been to.

I’ve never really been a lover of animals but I finally found a dog that I love. His name is Cookie and he’s the sweetest little thing! Although I still haven’t warmed up to him actually touching me, I did take him out for a run or two. We really bonded…I totally miss him.

My grandfather turned 79 last month! BOSS.

Just a few of my cousins that I got to see. Random fact: I am the second grandchild of seventeen grandchildren. There are seven GREAT-grandchildren. I repeat, I, 27-year-old Lucy, am the second grandchild of seventeen. There are seven great-grandchildren. I am childless. Folks are out there putting in work.

My cousins: Bryna, Bry’Ann and baby Bryce (#17). They annoyed me but I love them to pieces!

We ended up going to a resort in Kissimmee, FL but I could not stay. I hope they had a blast at Disney World.

What do you love

I came across this series on the GOOD website and I am in LOVE. I love being inspired by the simple things in life that make people happy. The things that give us life, energy, excitement…those things are inspiring to me. In the What Do You Love video series, different people share their passions, inspirations and loves. Man, I wish I would’ve come up with this genius idea first.

Here’s one of my favorites:

What do you love? What inspires you?