We are Surviving!

You creep into my life like a tornado in the night; but I waited in the shadows for you to show yourself.  The battle that I prepared myself for, turned out to be a war I almost gave up on.  You not only struck me, but my family as well.  As a single mother, we strive to continue on not matter what!  However, when you feel like you have no other choice but to give up and prepare your child for life without you, it makes you take stock of your life or lack there of.  No one knew what to make of you, I was told:  "It's just a migraine", "You can't be feeling this tired all the time", "Maybe you need more vitamins and exercise".  You name it, I think I heard it.  Surprisingly, after suffering for almost a year, an emergency doctor found my enlarged heart (which I did not have previously) and referred me to a cardiologist who cared (Dr. Jorge Castriz, I will forever thank him for caring enough to listen and look deeper).  Through testing he found YOU; Graves Disease!

http://www.inktastic.com/Find/Graves+Disease+Awareness

Finally, a name and with this I could begin to fight.  The first thing I realized was that it the roles in my household were reversed.  My daughter had become a worrier.  She checked on me while I slept to make sure I was breathing and okay.  I didn't have the heart to tell her that I needed all the sleep I could get, because my anxiety level was off the charts at night?  What she knew was that she did not want to loose her mother and she was going to do here part at trying to keep me well.....My hat, appreciation and love will always go out to my baby.  She fights with me.  It has been 6 years since I was properly diagnosed and at twelve she shows no signs of letting go of her overprotectiveness. She still asks about my doctors appointments, tests results and often reminds me of my medication.  The best thing about this is that it shows me how much of a support system I have in her.  The downside is that I feel as a parent, I should always be her support system not the other way around.  Graves has shown me a different side to illnesses.  We always say that the person is going through an illnesses, but truly the FAMILY goes through an illness.  For me FAMILY means my DAUGHTER, she walks the walks with me day in and day out.

This post is not just about Graves Disease Awareness, but about what I learned about my daughter through this disease.  She is very resilient when dealing with me and all my faults.  She has a great thirst for life that is quenched through the positive individuals she encounters.  My daughter has an inner light that never dims, no matter what obstacles she face.  Her greater instinct to help and mother others in need, outweighs her common sense sometimes (discernment is what we are learning to use in these instances).  My daughter is my hero!

Guest Blogger: Relationships by BalanceJ

There’s nothing like spending quality time with your kids. Today I spent time with my two beautiful daughters; we took a nice bike ride around the neighborhood and played catch in the front yard and it didn’t cost me a dime. As a neighbor was driving by, he stopped to reminisce when his father played catch with him. Here’s a middle age male talking about how those were some of his best memories with his father.


As parents, we think it takes extravagant trips or buying nice things to woe our kids; however there’s nothing further from the truth. There’s nothing better than the simple moments; they are usually free and the one’s kids remember most.

It saddens me to know that there are kids out there who don’t have a father and/or mother playing their part because of whatever excuse they use. Kids are truly the future; they come into the world as a blank sheet of paper waiting to be filled with nothing but positive encouragement. All it takes is time. If you don’t fill that void, someone else will be it positive or negative.

I love my two daughters to death and couldn’t imagine living without them. So the next time you check your wallet or purse and don’t find anything in it, just remember that all kids really want is your time and attention.

I challenge you to spend at least an hour a day with your child doing simple activities for one week; activities such as board games, playing catch, going for a walk, or riding a bike are just a few simple ideas. Let me know the outcome. Don’t be surprised 10 years from now your kid talks about those moments.



***BalanceJ is a guest blogger whose blog is geared toward helping others balance their life from spiritual through mental health.  He is a married father of two, who seeks to better the lives of others, one person at a time.  Check out his blog (click on his name) and let him know what you think and where you heard about him.

Furious Mom!

It is probably true what they say that boys are easier than girls to raise. On any other day I would said give me my girls any day, but today I have a more indifferent feeling. Today, my thinking is like no other, I am furious with my daughter, because of her mouth (that most of time gets her in trouble and grounded). For years, my daughter has always viewed my brother as a child or playmate; because he has been that playful uncle, instead of the authoritarian that he should have been all alone. Now that my brother has graduated college and has grown up tremendously, he expects for the transition to be easy, and unfortunately it is not.


Today was proof of that. She asked his girlfriend inappropriate questions and spoke to him as if he was a friend. The problem with this is that my brother does not say anything to her; he just comes back and speaks to either me or my mother about it. I have spoke to her about this issue as well as grounded her; still the result was the same (evidence today). Now, I am about to start something new, RESPECT is do or nothing will be GIVEN! How do you think this will go over with her? Pray for me, this is uncharted territory for me with this little/big girl!

Barrel of Water #2

Often, I find myself being a BARREL OF WATER when it comes to my daughter and the special events that take place in her life. One such event was her "Thanksgiving Feast Celebration Program", which took place at Urban Youth Impact, the afterschool center that she attends. The idea (what I took away from it) of this program was for the children to act/learn what a servant of GOD is supposed to facilitate: GIVING. The giving part was acted out by the children serving all the parents of their grade level dinner. It also was for the children to show their humble appreciation to their parents. The appreciation was shown by a series of mini speeches given by the children prompted by a question from their mentor, “Why are you thankful for your parents?”


As to be expected tears begin to form in my eyes as my daughter’s turn to speak approaches. Partly because she was being shy, because of all the extra unknown people in the audience that she did not know.

The question was asked “Why are you thankful for your parents” and my daughter placed her hands up to her eyes and made a slit in one of them so that she could eye me while speaking, and said “Because she loves me”. In that instant, the tears just flowed with ease. I was so proud of her and it touched my heart greatly that she remembered without a shadow of a doubt that MOMMY LOVES HER INFINITY! But I had to remember that we were around her friends and that she is getting older; so I quickly cleared traces of the tears from my chicks and eyes, mouthed to her that she did an excellent job and that I was so proud of her.

I could not help but yell inside a resounding: YES, SHE GETS IT! Finally, a verbal confirmation that I am raising a child who is socially and ethically aware of others. GOD is GOOD!

MOMMY loves you infinity, Makenly!  Thank you for being my cover through the storms!

A Call for HELP!

For the past two weeks I have been creating, researching and promoting my business website for my company Writers, ETC (which I started two years ago and had to take a break due to health reasons).  I created this website and then started to promote it while attending grad school at night, working during the day and spending time with my little one.  Who says there aren't SUPERMOMS?  LOL.....More like VERY TIRED MOM'S....but I feel like the end result will be greater for me and her alike.  Getting my business off the ground will allow me the flexibility and freedom to be there more with her in more ways than one.  Opening up about what I do has been very hard for me, because some people perceive it as being boastful, but it is getting easier as time goes on (I am a very humble person, so when asked is when I open up about things).  I started promoting my other company as well Shann's Boutique, which is a party favors website that I like because of the different variety of items it offers.  It gives me great ideas for planning events and writing workshops for Writer, ETC. 

With that said, I co-authored a book, which was released October 28th, titled Transformation: Reinventing the Woman Within (ask me about it, I think you will like what you hear).  Therefore, I am in need of someone good to create an authors page on blogger to aid me in promoting and selling this and other books.  Because, I recognize that I can't do everything, I am reaching out and saying HELP to anyone who knows someone who can help me with this project. 

This is my post today from a "Superwoman Syndrome" mother who is realizing that she can't possibly do everything herself and is looking for people who have the same values as she does to work with!  HELP!!!!!!

Strength of a Mother

The test of my mommy patience and strength was tested this past Tuesday! My daughter is going through precocious puberty (this is another thing that I am trying to learn about and deal with) at 7 years old and had to have testing done at a local hospital’s outpatient surgical center. The test was about 4 hours and she had to fast prior to the test (the beginning of a monster – a hungry kid). I can not begin to put my day into words; therefore here is the schedule of the events that took place:

5:15a.m. - Alarm goes off and our day started off                                           

6:40a.m. - We leave the house with destination hospital in sight!

8:00a.m. - Nurse calls munchkin back

8:35a.m. - Bone density X-ray taken (this was quick and easy)

9:15a.m. - It took 4 people (me and three nurses) to hold my daughter so that she could get her IV.

10:00a.m. - She cries that she is hungry and needs to eat NOW!

10:35a.m. - She begin to cry louder that she needs to eat NOW!

This small schedule is just a glimpse of what I had to contend with on that day. Every thirty minutes, blood was taken and after 4 hours of my daughter crying and being insistent that she needed to eat; it was over! 1:3 never looked so good! I could have hugged the clock in a momentous embrace. She was able to eat finally and the monster went away and my sweet baby girl reappeared. After arriving home I needed a nap, I felt like I was a preschooler who missed their nap!

My daughter has an unhealthy fear of needles; SOMETIMES! It is a weird situation where she is deadly afraid sometimes and less fearful other times. How do I begin to break her of this fear, knowing that this will not be her final meeting with a needle? Any suggestions, please?

Random Thoughts of the Night!

As I stare at my little girl sleeping with such ease, my mind drift to thoughts of what's to be.  If someone would have told me 10 years ago that I would be a single mother of an intelligent little girl, an author, entrepreneur and grad student without a husband; I would have told them to keep dreaming.  Now, I can't see my life without any of it including the husband.  Tonight my thoughts are random in the selection of past, present and future ideas, however one is selective:  Am I destine to do this alone for my life?  This has to be the thought of every single parent at some point, right?  Or am I the only one who thinks this?

I can't help but look at her and feel that she is missing out on so much, by my selective behavior in the opposite sex.  But when I think of how much she means to me and how much I want her life to be as diverse and full of greatness, one thought comes to mind:  How can I not be selective in who I introduce into our lives?

As the story continues to unfold, I dream of grander times when I can share this life that I am building with a person willing to accept the gift that we have to offer!  I struggle with not revealing to much or being to personal on this blog; however these random thoughts tonight needed to be expressed! 

I hope you don't mind.  Have a great Halloween Everyone!