Thinking Kinky : The Nappy Haired Diva

My mother is from Trinidad, W.I. Being raised by a Caribbean mother is unique. There are inside jokes that my only fellow W.I.-Americans (or First Generation Yankees) can appreciate. One of those things are the amount of fuss that is created over cleaning. In a Caribbean household, cleaning is a BIG deal but there are two specific cleanings that have plagued my life since I can remember: Holiday Cleaning and Spring Cleaning. Thankfully I have survived the holidays however Spring Cleaning is now here and my mother is buzzing about the house shaking her head disdainfully as she tears down curtains, and tossing just about any and everything into a thick black garbage bag. Typically, I try to stay out of my mother's way. I hide until she is done. My mother is almost always angry while she cleans and even if I took the initiative to clean something she would come behind me only to clean it all over again to her liking. This year however, I have my own bit of spring cleaning to do. By fi

I have realized that I spend far too much time entertaining what's best described as nonsense. I was chatting with a close family member today and he told me that Abby 15 years ago beats Abby present day by a landslide. I was fit. I was confident. I knew where I was and I knew where I was going. Enter Abby Present Day. I'm totally out of shape. My confidence is far cry from what it once was. I know where I am but I am hopeful of where I am going to end up. I can't say I am GOING anywhere. The game plan...pack up my baggage (the pain, the regrets, the nonsense), toss it overboard into the sea of forgetfulness and start my journey toward where I want to be.