Friday, December 24, 2010

They'll Never be Another


I have a pretty good memory, I believe I actually remember my own birth. I know it sounds crazy, but I feel it to be true. I am thankful for my superior memory because it allows to keep special moments close to my heart. One of the new memories added to my ever-growing memory bank is that of my great-grandmother Fannie Mae Taylor. She was born on December 23, 1907 in Louisiana. She was born to a large family. She went on to marry at the tender age of 16 and had 9 children naturally. She raised them in racist Louisiana ; amid segregation, poverty, and sexism she maintained her family. She held down a job, supported her family, and she was a faithful member of the Zion Springs Baptist church for over 45 years. Her death was a total surprise to us all. Her last few years were spent between hospices, hospitals, and family homes in Monroe, Louisiana. She was in pretty good health those last couple of years, especially for being over 100 years old. In the bible you are promised 75 years on this earth; Mama Fannie exceeded that by 27 years. THAT IS A BEYOND BLESSED WOMAN! And as much as I cried, I could only cry tears of joy. She lived such a full, rich, and diverse life and was so good to everyone she encountered. She helped my grandma with my mother when her mother passed, she remained married when so many others divorced or separated, and she never forgot God throughout it all. In fact I believe she kept God very close to her especially when she was enduring the Women's Rights Movement, The Great Depression, and The Civil Rights Movement. She even made it to see the first black president, Barack Obama. What an incredible life! Her life will forever be celebrated because what she endured as a black women living in the limited South is nothing short of remarkable. Mama Fannie just know you have left a permanent mark on our hearts, we will praise your name for many years come. We will also pray that we could even live a fraction of the life you have. Thank you God for blessing us with your one true angel on Earth. Sincerely, Oriel Martin

Friday, December 17, 2010

CHRISTmas


I have noticed that as you age, Christmas's sense of value differs greatly. You go from being in love with gifts, cookies, and trees to shopping for others, trying to score good deals, and planning on how fabulous your New Year's will be. Though the value of Christmas could never be equivalent to a gift, as a child that was all I cared about! Sure we went to church and visited with family, I can honestly say I never appreciated Christmas. It was all about candy canes, dolls, a wish list, good fattening food, and seeing my family. I guess as you get older, Christmas changes for the good. You buy the people you love one really nice gift, put up reasonable decorations, and cook a tasty meal to share with others. To overwhelm Christmas with gifts and other superfluous things truly devalues the meaning. Celebrating the pagan reality of Christ's alleged birth is what Christmas pertains to, not gifts. Gifts should be the last thing on everyone's mind. With that being said, everyone gets a nice, reasonable gift from me, I will be going to church to join in fellowship and celebration of our Christ Lord, and I will take a moment to reflect on how grateful I am for CHRISTmas. Because without CHRISTmas, there surely would be no me! Happy Holidays to all.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

To me, you will always be my lil stinky face Pooties!


Seven years ago God blessed me with the most surprising, precious Christmas gift; a lil baby girl named Aaniyah! I will never forget the first day I met her. My mother had called me from upstairs, I was doing homework as I was a junior in high school. I reluctantly came downstairs and I was immediately surprised. My mother was holding this lil tiny baby in her arms. She was just laying there cooing. I took one look at her and I FELL HEAD OVER HEELS! She was beautiful. I asked if I could hold her and I didn't put her down until her mother came to pick her up. I felt this magnetic force pulling me toward her. Aaniyah's journey was not easy; she was almost 3 months premature and almost didn't survive. The almighty God we have saw her through her trials and now she has turned seven and hopefully will turn many more ages. I forged a close relationship with her mother, Ms. Devonee Peterson. We spent so much time hanging out. Every week we would watch our weekly lineup and favorite shows at the time; the first 48 hours & Chappelle show! There was never a dull moment! That was seven years ago, now I am 24 and Aaniyah is 7! I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW TIME FLIES! It honestly has been quite an adventure watching her grow into a little lady. She is so smart, intuitive, charming, and most of all, HILARIOUS! I have to credit her mother for such a great child. On her birthday we went to go see Tangled and had a pure blast. I pray we have many more birthdays where I can stand back and rest assure that my favorite little girl is growing into a lovely, talented, and even more beautiful young lady. Love you Pooties, forever and always! Love, Auntie O

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Never Ever Again


As the year approaches an end, I reflect on what I accomplished. I managed to write pretty regularly on this blog, did pretty damn well in school (4.0 gpa), earned a little bit of money, bought some awesome gear, reunited with old friends, had a lovely family reunion, *MET MY GODSON, bonded with my brother, managed to readjust to living with family again, had a beautiful Thanksgiving with my great-aunts from Dallas, worked 3 jobs, *WORKED MY FIRST HAUNTED HOUSE, worked my first movie premiere, rode the bus alone, went to New York several times to see my love, hung out with great friends from college in New York, narrowed down my career path, and lastly, officially set up a five year plan and goal.

However, there were some bumps in the road too. I ended a few paralyzing/one sided relationships, officially removed my disastrous ex out of my life, *missed my car like crazy, *reminiscenced, missed, and regretted some things about my "L.A." life, found out some disturbing news about a friend, *had my precious foot stabbed by a sensor at popular clothing store Juicy Couture, didn't save much of anything, overspent, let silly things get me down, didn't invest my time in my career, *did not write as much as I could have, almost let the devil interrupt my relationship, judged my family way to harshly, ate my own words in a weird, but sobering way, *messed up an very important application, cried instead of becoming proactive about misfortune, and *lastly allowed the devil to get in the way of my family (blood is always thicker than a demon).

Overall, I rate 2010 with a 7. I am closer to true bliss, I met a man that I feel wants to take me there, and finally select a career that is fit for me. I will allow 2010 to be a careful set of reality based reminders, pointers, and suggestions for what to do & what not to do in 2011. Never make the same mistake twice.