May you please go away

I am looking forward to June.  June is not my month, but it is close to my month.  July IS my month.  This is the month where my parents welcome their firstborn child, ME.  I will talk about June and July in their prospective months.  In the meantime, I hate to do this, but it is reflection time.

May the pandemic

Photo by Pixabay.com

There is no doubt that May continued the lockdown.  It wasn’t until May 16^th that things started to open back up.  Was it too soon? Probably, people are just too glad to get out.  To wear a mask or not wear a mask in my opinion is a personal preference.  I prefer to wear one for safety since I have to go visit my parents, who are elderly and sickly.  I have mentioned that in several of my posts as of late, and I am not about to change that stance soon. 

Because of my stance, I have postponed my family’s trip to Disney.  I have mentioned in a previous post that the trip that was canceled in October 2019 for a totally different reason and will not be rescheduled until July 1, 2020, for the date of December 2021.  I have other reasons too, including that Walt Disney World will not accept reservations until July 1, 2020, so I have no choice.

I have stepped into two stores since the state of Ohio opened back up. It was yesterday.  I had to get an air filter from Lowes and water from Dollar tree.  My air conditioner needed the filer and I needed some water to put into my toilets.  Why?  Because my water was shut off due to an outside pipe bursting from the winter thaw.  It started leaking the Thursday before, and from where the sound was coming from, I thought that it was the next-door neighbor’s pipe.  I ignored it.  I was going to take something to my parent’s house when I found a note on my back door.  I grabbed the note and showed it to my dad, who tried to see over the next several days on how to get the outside pipe, which was not in my fence.  To make a long story short, the water was shut off.  I could not bath, wash clothes, wash the dishes (thank God for being able to hide dirty dishes in a dishwasher), and found out that my attic is attached to my neighbor’s attic and only separated by a divider. Got to love the designer for these buildings.

My water is now turned back on.  It is in moments like these that allow me to respect outhouses😅.  Tip:  if you have a Dollar Tree or any dollar store, getting water from there for $1 is wonderful.  You can get $10 worth and store them in case of emergencies.  When the emergency is over, refill and save for next time.  The good news is water does not spoil.  If you feel uneasy about refilling the bottles, buy 10 more sealed new ones for $1.

The cat is in heat again. I tell you, I feel brand new when she does this.  Thank God she will be fixed soon.

May the activist

I do not have to tell you about what has been going on in the African American community and beyond.   It is another sad story of an officer overstepping his authority, and he put his own agenda over the person who he was arresting.  The man died, and it took the officer’s superior and department a day after George Floyd died to arrest the officer. At first, it was going to be just a firing. People started peacefully protesting, then it got out of hand from there. They are even protesting in my city. I found out that it is only an arrest for 3rd-degree murder.  If it had been the opposite, George Floyd would have been charged for 1^st-degree murder.  The officer needs to be charged for 1^st-degree murder.

I have or will have mentioned this in my last post, but I am tired. My people are tired.  When you see a photo of a tired person, it is of an African-American.  We have been down this road oh so many times until we cannot count anymore.  We do not have to be doing anything but going about our day, just living in the moment.  What do I mean by that? Let see:

·         Going to work

·         Sitting in the back yard

·         Going to the mailbox

·         Talking to a neighbor

·         Getting something to eat

·         Sleeping in our own home

·         Walking the dog

·         Going to the store for some skittles (remember Treyvon Martin)

·         Having an outing in the park

·          Add sitting in a car or having anything to do with a car (Sandra Bland and now George Floyd)

·         Enjoying a night of fellowshipping (the 9 that were killed in a North Carolina Church during bible study)

·         Jogging (Ahmad Avery)

I have a whole list of things that we want to do without some white person getting upset, calling the police, and wasting taxpayers money, and putting in false reports, or becoming a vigilante and take matters into your own hands.

This started well before these incidents.  There was:

·         The 1960s

·         Jim Crow

·         Sharecropping

·         Slavery

To name a few.  When will it end?

Now, I am not saying that all white people are racist.  I have some good, decent white friends who have my back.  Not all black people are cheaters and anything else that we are being accused of. I do not want to spend any more time on this than I have to.  I have started back my YouTube channel (I took a break from it), and I have addressed it there.

So, May was not a good month for me.  I want a do-over, but, I would then ask for a do over for a lot of months and years, including the months where I almost took my life, the times I did not get the job I wanted, the times I ran completely out of money and had to depend on my parents, and the times where I wished I was taking care of someone other than myself, only to find out that in one big swoop that ability was taken away from me.

Those disappointments were replaced and filled with great big moments of joy, happiness, “Yay, I got the job”, “yay, I have enough money to go on that trip or to buy something I really wanted”, and “yay, I am going to be an aunt and niece (or nephew), aunty is going to spoil you like nothing else matters, but I am also going to teach you something.  I cannot wait until the newest Logan is old enough for me to give her the same treatment that I gave her cousins, uncle, and father have gotten before her. Aww, heck, she gets it now.  I am trying to think of an outfit that will make my 3-month old niece look fly. (Oh, do they still say that?  Let me know in the comments section). 

It is times like these that keep a person on their toes and to remind us that everything is not always going to go our way.  I am trying different techniques like journaling, meditating, exercising, and being kind to myself and others.  Yes, these are angry times, and for that, I try not to watch too much news, pray about a situation, and try to take a positive approach, which includes trying to ignore the tyrant in the white house.  It is hard when your race has once again become the subject of white people acting ugly and black people responding ugly.  Find your happiness or calmness in the midst of this storm of illness and protests.  You will be surprised how much better you will feel.

Until then, I pray that June will be the start of something better for all of us.

I took a month off…

This is not my typical blog post.  I am usually the one who is encouraging the potential writer to go after their dreams, by writing what they know, be creative in their writing, and own it.  By owning it, I mean, use correct grammar, research when you are not familiar with a subject, and be consistent in everything you write about.    I hope show a person how to achieve this goal, in hopes the person will learn how to write effectively enough to gain readers, and maybe earn an extra income or even write full-time.

(c) 2015 P. Lynne Designs

It has been a month since I written anything.  The reason is quite simple: I had a car accident, and even though I spent all of 5 hours in ER, my beloved 1998 Honda Accord LX, the one I bought from my parents in 2006, and the same car, my sister named “Jessica” for me, was destroyed in a matter of seconds.  If it wasn’t for the fact I wore my seat belt, my parents would have been mourning my death today.  That was 3 weeks ago, and I thank God for that. 

What I got out of this and bear with me and my dry sense of humor, was dealing with a town with less than the regulated 2 traffic light minimum, Columbus has more than its share of traffic lights.  A town, where the mayor oversees everything.  Columbus has Franklin County Court to do that for them.  I was trying to make light out of the situation, so sorry for those who live in a small town. 

Healing takes a while, and it is even worst when you have a low tolerate of pain. I hurt my right shoulder, and today was the first day I was able to type this long.   Last November, I was helping my mother, because she barely could do anything, and 3 weeks ago, it was my turn.  I have only been at home twice for short periods, and this weekend, I hope I can stay by myself.  

I have a new car, a 2008 Dodge Contour Hatchback, I am hoping to graduate to a 2014 or 15 Honda CR-V or Accord (I love my Hondas), but would not be mad if I have to stick to the Dodge a little longer.  (Note: September 18, 2015- I stand corrected, it is a Dodge Caliber)

I am trying to reinvent the wheel while I am not fully entrepreneuring (not really a word, but a play on Entrepreneurship).  Rethinking some things, taking it easy, but I should be back in full swing by September.  I have some things planned that I hope will generate my income again.   I have found out something in my downtime, the difference between being out sick when work for someone versus self-employment. The difference is, in working for a company, you have someone breathing down your neck, and even if you apply and receive long-term disability, there is pressure for you to return to work, or be replaced.  This happened to me when I had surgery in 1993.  I took short-term leave of absence, then had to switch to long-term.  I was told by my employer that I had to return in two weeks, or risk being replaced.  When you are self-employed, you just have to put on your big girl panties, and suck it up for a while.  In either case, you do not receive any money, unless you do what some experts ask entrepreneurs to do, and that is to have some kind of automatic income come in, even when you have a lean month.  August is my lean month, due to injury.

Well, it is now time to charge up the IPad, but I will have a regular post next time, and I will not take so long writing it.  If I have not taught you anything today (or whenever you read this), always remember to take some time out for you and your family.  It is great to be able to freelance write, create, or whatever your self-employed business is, but what good is it if you are not here to enjoy the moment and the fruits of your labor.  Take care of yourself.