Boldly Unbroken

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Daddy’s Eyes

Drinking my coffee from the front porch swing this morning, I opened my phone as I usually do to make sure I haven’t missed anything important going on in the world (insert a little sarcasm with truth, right there). It’s a quiet, foggy morning with an occasional log truck going by. The birds chirping, my cats, playing at my feet, squirrels running across the yard… just very peaceful. As I looked down at my phone, I had somehow opened my photo albums and I was staring straight into my dad’s eyes. Those eyes. He had the most beautiful blue eyes. My eyes are blue, but not like my dad’s. I stared at his picture for a moment, researching the outline of his face, every little wrinkle and gray stubble. The thinning of his hair, the thickening of his eyebrows, the color and rough texture of his skin. The shape of his mouth with his lips clamped tightly without his teeth. That Humphryes nose that he blessed us all with. His eyes; one round and one almond shaped, I definitely have his eyes. O

Standing on the Promises...

Times change. Things change. People change. Change is needed for growth; physical, mental and spiritual growth. I personally believe that change is good when it’s meant to be good. I also believe that some things will never change and that is also good. The world we live in today has changed significantly, from just a few years ago. I have had to make many, many changes in my lifetime. There are some things about myself that I will never change. Ever. Physically , mentally and spiritually, will always be the same as far as my own, personal being is concerned. I will always be proud of being a Christian. I will never be ashamed of being white. I believe there are only two genders. I believe marriage is meant for a man and a woman. I believe in and support the right to bear arms as they do save lives. I believe America is great. I do not believe freedom is free without the sacrifices of others. I do believe black lives matter. I believe blue lives matter. I believe all lives matt

Living the Best Life

I recently took a road trip by myself to reconnect my spirit, clear my mind and focus on my blessings. I stayed at a little bed-and-breakfast inn at Dauphin Island. Nestled in a little corner lot on the bay, this place was quite cozy. Sectional sofas and a big screen TV arranged on a covered concrete patio along with picnic tables with umbrellas out in the sun. A deck on the upper level to overlook the beautiful grounds and the pier full of fishing boats. A fire pit, barbecue grills, tropical flowers and trees were the setting of the backyard which had a sidewalk leading to the pier and boat docks. In the area was a sea lab, walking and bird trails, a beautiful park and an RV campground. The secluded, private beach was especially relaxing and peaceful. Breakfast for everyone was at 8 AM; whatever you can imagine for breakfast is what was served. And boy did we eat. There were 16 of us guests having breakfast this particular morning. We introduced ourselves and swapped life stories ov

The Best BFF Ever

In middle school I met a guy that would become the very best friend I ever had. Only I didn’t realize it at the time. Then, there I was … a middle-aged woman trapped in a “job“ where I was disrespected, unheard and unappreciated by my coworkers, manager and owners of the salon I worked for. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my career… I was just in the wrong place. You see, since 2001 I have always been self-employed and at one time I operated two salons with booth renters. In March 2020, one week before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, my salon, The Beauty Shop, burned to the ground. It was devastating. With no place to go once things opened back up from quarantine, I was hired at a local “walk in“ salon and was thankful and grateful for it. Most of my clients followed me there and I actually picked up several new ones. About nine months into my employment things started to change. It was quite obvious that the manager was very partial to the younger stylists there. They were all under the ag

Easter Sunday 2021

It’s Easter Sunday morning. A beautiful, beautiful day at that. I woke up a little extra early in the excitement of what today represents. Little did I know that Satan would be attacking me extra hard today. I made my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth before showering when I realized I had no water. I have a well pump and I knew it had not been cold enough for a freeze so my first thought was to call Howard, my bonus dad, for his insight in troubleshooting the problem. But I couldn’t do that now. The Lord called him home just over two weeks ago. I had accepted the loss of not having him with us… or so I thought. At that moment it hit me really hard. I will never see him again. I will never hear his voice again. I will never touch him again. I will never laugh with him again. Now, I was really beginning to grieve. I became angry and felt my blood pressure rising. I was angry because Satan was trying to destroy this day for me. I paced the floors of my house. Out of anger I got d

My “New Normal”

I was talking to a friend a few weeks ago and she said something that didn’t quite sit right with me. In a sentence or two she made the insinuation that I was “unhealthy“ or “sickly“. That’s certainly not the case at all. At the same time there are many people, mostly family, that think that after cancer treatment my life went back to what it was before. That’s not the case, either. When someone doesn’t understand a certain disease though, I can see why they would think the way they do. I survived breast cancer in 2012. I am in remission. I take a maintenance therapy to make sure I stay in remission. I have three years left of that treatment. As a result of treatment however, there were side effects and conditions that changed me physically and emotionally that I have had to accept and make adjustments with. Nothing went back to “normal”. There are certain things I do not eat anymore or that I’m careful with due to being estrogen receptor+. The strength in my right arm is half of

CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM CONE

Chocolate Ice Cream Cone... Mimi. That’s what I called my grandmother, my mama’s mama. God, I miss that woman. As little children, Mimi would sing to us all the time. There is one song in particular that has been sang from generation to generation in our family. Chocolate Ice Cream Cone. It’s a cute song with a catchy little tune the kids always love. At every family gathering we would get her to sing it and we would all sing it with her or take turns singing it ourselves. I have grandchildren of my own, now and everyone of them can sing this song word for word. My grandchildren never knew their great, great grandmother personally, however; I feel that they have a connection to her through this song. As long as I am living, every grandchild, great grandchild and great, great grandchild of mine will know this song if I have to teach it to them myself. It has become our family legacy. My mama said if I’d be good she’d send me to the store. She said she’d make some gingerbread if I

Bubble Gum Mumps ....

As a young girl, somewhere around seven years old I had the mumps. I had never heard of them until then. In the very back, rear facing seat of my mom and dad‘s station wagon, we were headed to my Mimi‘s house in Camden, Alabama. We stopped at a small gas station on Highway 41 on the way. Dad would always let us come in and get a five cent cookie or a handful of penny candy for the road. This particular day me and all my sisters got a little brown bag of penny bubblegum. It came in three flavors… bubblegum, sour apple and grape. I remember chewing grape bubble gum and adding another piece until my mouth could not possibly put any more in it! It was about a 45 minute drive to Mimi’s house and by the time we got there my jaws were hurting. Later in the day I began running a fever and my face on both sides were swollen. I looked like a chipmunk with overstuffed jaws. As it turned out, I had the mumps. Then another sister had it… and another until all of us except my brother was sick w

Rumor Has It .....

As a hairdresser in 2003, I began having request from male clients for “topless“ haircuts. This ranged in a time span of several months. I answered a telephone call one day from a guy that was my business partner’s client. He wanted to book a haircut appointment but when I called her to the phone he insisted that he book his appointment with me. After discussing this a brief minute or so, I penciled him in. The day of his appointment I sat him in my chair and I asked him what I could do for him. He said he wanted my “special“ haircut. I was confused as to what this “special“ haircut was so I gave him one of my hairstylist books to browse through and choose what hairstyle he wanted. As I turned around to give him a minute to look at the book, he grabbed my hand and said, a “SPECIAL“ (with emphasis), haircut. I stood behind the chair and looked him in the face through the mirror and explained to him that I was unsure of what he was talking about. As my business partner walked out

Those Summers...

When my children were a lot younger, their dad made sure we took summer vacations that we all enjoyed. One of the most memorable places was right here in Alabama. Lakepoint Resort State Park in Eufaula. It was actually where their dad and I spent our honeymoon when we got married since we both liked to camp. As a family though, we enjoyed the beautiful hotel and restaurant with the nice pool just as much as we enjoyed the cabin in the woods or the cabins on the lake. We tried them all at least once. We would load up the SUV and hook up the boat and go for a weekend if not an entire week. I remember one summer my kids noticed three alligators across the lake and would feed them although they were signs that specifically stated, “DO NOT FEED THE ALLIGATORS”. They even named the alligators Allie, Abby and Arby. Every trip we made they had to go see their “pet alligators“. I also remember my son throwing rocks one afternoon… just as he threw a rock in the air a bird had flown by. It hit

The Size of a Pea .....

Just before Thanksgiving of 2011, I felt a small little lump about the size of a pea in between my nipple and armpit of my right breast. It concerned me but my insurance would not pay for an ultrasound until February, so I waited. Just before Christmas it was gone… I did not feel the little lump anymore. So I thought nothing of it. I never had any pain, soreness or anything in my breast. February 13th of 2012 I went for my annual mammogram. I saw it on the screen and my heart sank. Immediately after my mammogram, my doctor wanted to do an ultrasound. She said it could be a “cyst“ but wanted to make sure. So I had the ultrasound right then. Unfortunately, it was not a cyst and she recommended that I schedule a biopsy ASAP because there was “something“ on the entire right side of that breast. I had the ultrasound two hours later. Normally, they would retrieve eight samples but she got five good ones and felt that was enough. I got my results 24 hours later… on Va

3 Kinds....

(This is just my opinion of what I have witnessed over the last few years…) I have worked hard all of my life and have even started completely over a couple times, each time learning from myself and my own mistakes and from the mistakes of others. It’s been about four years now that I have been by myself. I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on many things. I have spent a lot of days looking at myself in the mirror understanding and realizing that I am not perfect by any means however, I feel that I am a good catch for someone. I’m independent and self-sufficient. I am very organized and can be a little OCD at times. My bills are always paid on time unless it is something beyond my control. I have short term and long term goals. Except for God, my family will always come first. I’m not afraid to try anything once; if I like it I will do it again and again if I want to. I always try to balance work and pleasure. I eat healthy, for the most part. I do not smoke. I do n