“This was in September of last year. Autumn: a great season, but one that can be hard on your skin. It is important to continue to use sunscreen even after the dog days of summer. Studies show that incidental sun exposure causes 78 percent of all your sun damage. Whether you are just out for a short while to check the mail, go out for groceries, or forcibly toss your mother onto the front lawn after she tries to wrestle your cell phone from you and pee in your living room in a manic rage, those rays add up to premature aging…”

My Year in Self-Care Purchases: Damn, Girl. Get Your Shit Together

“I’ve been looking over your resolutions and I realize few of them will impact me personally and as a person, I am affronted. If you truly aspire to make the world a better place for me, I’ve got some suggestions:

Do your art. Write, paint, build, draw, sew, knit, restore, collage, garden, cook, bake, write songs, take pictures, create whatever pleases you — and SHARE.

Drive as if there are valuable humans in every other vehicle on the road.

Know your own reason before making an argument.

Don’t be a person with a two-and-a-half minute outgoing voicemail message…”

Inspiration Can Be Snarky: Joeyfully Stated

“My favorite teachers were always my art teachers, except for that one.  That one that I lamented to a classmate, “Mrs. Strickland is such a bitch – I can’t stand her and her stupid “art should always be beautiful” crap.  If you think art has to be beautiful, then you’re a moron who doesn’t know a damn thing about art.  Why doesn’t she go teach Hygiene or something?”

Then my classmate said, “Umm, you know she’s my mom, right?”

And that’s how I found out Emma was Mrs. Strickland’s daughter.”

Diagnosis: Foot-In-Mouth Disease: RomCom Dojo

“Listen, racists are going to be racist. It’s what they do. Racists are as predictable as the sun rising and setting.

Grandma got racist during this administration? Nah, grandma got bold during this administration; trust, she was racist long before this administration came into power.

You are floored that your parents don’t want a black grandbaby…I’m guessing they have that one or two “acceptable black friends” that have never received an invitation to their home in 40+ years.

As a Black woman, I’m always more shocked by the folks who are shocked that they now “see racists.”

I’ve never had that luxury. I had to learn to spot them early in order to just live.”

Thoughts on “How to Deal” with Racists: AdoptiveBlackMom