It’s My Facebookaversary

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On June 19, 2010 my life forever changed. I know that sounds dramatic…but…that’s the day I finally joined Facebook! I’ll admit, I was NOT on the FB bandwagon when it was first introduced to people of a particular age (as in my friends). I’d seen and heard about the infamous “inboxing”. I’d seen it capture and corrupt the attention of someone I knew well, and not in a positive way. I’d heard about the “mess” that ensued as people expressed their thoughts, two cents, opinions and unsolicited advice. I just didn’t want any part of it.

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However, since posting my first inspirational quote and the first pictures of a photo shoot of my sister as she was about to POP just before giving birth to my new niece, to sliding in a few “my husband left me a few months ago and I’m going to smile and show off my long hair as best I can” photos, Facebook has become my way to connect/reconnect with SO many. What a wonderful seven years it has been catching up with, and getting to know you all on Facebook, then slowly inching my way to the likes of Instagram, Twitter, WordPress, Pinterest and Linkedin.

(See my first two profile pics…Whew! That girl was doing everything in her God-given power just to smile. I’m proud of her!)

One of my first Profile Pics
One of my first Profile Pics

Social media is a powerful tool, people. I’ve seen it be a blessing to me and so many. I’ve sadly seen from a firsthand perspective how it has been used to divide and misguide stirring up the most seemingly uncontrolled spirits of division, comparison, jealousy, low self-esteem and plain ol’ meanness that I’ve seen in all my life.

For me, I’d like to think Facebook and its friends to be the place where I can laugh, cry, learn and “like” all in one post. It’s where my words and videos live whether they come at 3am in the morning or in the middle of a meeting where I should be paying attention and can’t, and where my blogging bug took over. It’s where the most beautiful babies, weddings, proms or parties light up a feed. I’ll admit, it’s also where my investigative eyes roamed, or my “I’ll show you what you’re missing” pictures/posts prevailed. It’s where I learn of my favorite concerts coming, shows to watch, and new words to say (or not say…like On Fleek…LOL!) It’s where my eyes are opened to the social, civic and political climates of this wild and wacky world in which we live. It’s where my mind is challenged by people who I didn’t even know could think so very deeply. It’s where I rep my school…Roll Tide!

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It’s where I’ve been consoled and console as life’s tragedies, divorces, death, physical challenges and trials are not just shared, but covered in serious prayer. It’s where my memories in pictures live, not just for today, but for the tomorrows when those pictures may be all someone has. It’s where my spirit is fed as I have soooooooooo many Jesus loving and inspirational, regardless of their faith, friends. It’s where my relationships are restored (Hey, today is the day I reconnected via a FB request with an old boyfriend from the 90s turned good friend named Aquil…and look at us now! Happy “we met again on Facebook” Anniversary, husband!). It’s where a middle of the day meme can send me into the most uncontrollable laugh just when I need it most. It’s where my fashionistas serve up couture and discount offerings like a Waffle House waitress working for her biggest tip. It’s where at-home-cooks and diners-out post food pics or restaurant recommendations that make me salivate like a toddler in a dentist’s chair. It’s where people share their lives as much as, as best as and as often as they can for those in which they care to connect.

Despite any of the negative which transpires on my timeline from time-to-time I’m grateful for the family and friends who bless me each time I scroll my timeline. You are my inspirations! Keep up the great posts!

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@AngelaMichele316

Daddy’s Going Home

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TODAY is the day!
After more than a month of his second stint in the hospital/rehab facility, my dad is finally going home.!!!!! He has come so far and has a long way to go, BUT he’ll be getting there from his favorite red chair in his very own house. Praise the Lord!
I must stop and celebrate my mom Angenetta Scott through this journey. She has been there the entire time, every day, all day, overnight, taking care of their home and helping her husband at the same time with a smile on her face, patience in her demeanor, and overflowing love in her heart which encouraged other people even as she was the one who should have been being encouraged. I can’t imagine all she has experienced during this process which started on President’s on a cold, rainy February morning. As the ultimate “Mama Bear” she still shields us from as much as she can, but I know there was a struggle the last several months to help her “boo” get his feet firmly planted on the road to healing.  She is my hero!
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Sometimes we have a myth about marriage believing that it’s all fun and frolicling. Ha! In sickness and in health is not a joke. It happens, more often than not. The response in times of trouble is what solidifies some and sinks others and I know that first-hand. Real marriage is so much more than many may know, especially when it’s HARD as the dickens. It’s not about being boo’d up, getting a big ring, meeting some internal timeline, having unlimited bedtime fun (you get my drift), looking good in pictures, having cute kids, or trying to fill the void of loneliness. And for a woman, it’s definitely not just having a man. Marriage is about God-designed purpose, hard work, enduring affection, overcoming obstacles which would take others out, intense praying, sacrifice, unwavering faith and unconditional love. That, ladies and gentlemen is what marriage is all about. I salute you, mommy.
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@AngelaMMoore316

Salute to My Daddy, My Hero

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On the eve of your 72nd birthday I peep at you from the corner of my right eye as you twiddle your thumbs from your wheelchair, your new best bud. I’ve laughed at you today, laughed with you today and been scared out of my ever-loving mind as I walked into your current home away from home to the repeated phrases, “Oh my goodness! Your daddy walked out here by himself without his walker.” I panicked on the inside, being sure not  show it on the outside as I entered in your room to find you smiling and playing with your food.

Boy-oh-boy! This year has been a doozy, Daddy. Gone are the days of you taking me as a toddler to the bar with you, perching me on the counter as you sipped your favorite elixir. (Don’t you dare judge. This was the 70s where life was easy-breezy…LOL!) Passed are the days where you called me by my nickname of “Bird” because I didn’t have hair and had legs as skinny as a bird. (Can I find my skinny legs again???) Long ago are the days where we went toe-to-toe about my curfew, my “boo” of choice, my smart mouth and your stubbornness which someone found its way to me. (I’m so glad I came to my senses with the help of neighborhood trees and your “discipline”…LOL!) Far seems the day, of less than a year ago when you helped carry and put up a Christmas tree wider and much taller than your 6ft 3inch+ frame.

Many things have changed. But what hasn’t changed is your awe-inspiring statue and spirit. In all my life I’ve never seen you weak, even now, as I type with two hands, continuing to keep an eye on you as if you’re a newborn, but super respectful of the fact that you are a good and grown man.  Even in your sickness you are
“that dude”. You’ve always been the strongest, smartest, kindest, flyest, funniest, most family-oriented, hardest working, most fiscally sound, richest (yep, I said richest), most generous, most knowledgeable, historically astute man I’ve known. And now, as sickness tries with immenent failure to dull your shine just a teeny tiny bit, I’m grateful that NOTHING, not even illness can change the fact that you are STILL the strongest, smartest, kindest, flyest, funniest, most family-oriented, hardest working, most fiscally sound, richest (yep, I said richest), most generous, most knowledgeable, and historically astute man I know.

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I made a combined photo of us from the past and present. What’s changed? Not much at all. You’re still “that dude”. For all of my life, like the picture on the left you’ve had my back. From hence forth, like the picture on the right, I’ll have yours.

Signed,

Bird AKA @AngelaMMoore316

 

 

 

 

Fathers Matter

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Another Father’s Day weekend is approaching and, as usual, my family and I are scurrying to try to tie up plans to celebrate the special dads in our lives. Not that the scurrying is in a last minute kind of manner, but year-after-year it becomes increasingly more difficult to buy things for the men who have everything or don’t require much, or come up with plans for the people are who simply and truly content with their family being around somewhere within a 500 yard radius as they lounge in a chair with a cold beverage and remote in hand. We ask repeatedly and early what gifts might bring my Daddy joy. The answer is always the same, “Don’t get me anything. I just want my family happy.” He means that as proof of all of the tags in his closet from gifts given long ago. I must also be following the expectation that most women end up with men like their fathers because even my beau gives the standard “drive me crazy” answer of, “You don’t have to get me anything special. I’m happy with whatever.” So this year the Father’s Day theme is an new-fangled fish fry. And by new fangled I mean someone is going to pick it up a whole bunch of all-ready prepared seafood from a restaurant and grocery store and we’re going to celebrate the amazing men in our lives young and older, from near and far with hopes of staying awake long enough to watch the NBA finals, of course, with cold beverages and a remote in one of the fathers hands.

Fathers matter so much. I think they’ve gotten a tremendously bad rap in society because of a few bruised apples. Some may not be present by choice or circumstance. Some might have made mistakes. Some might have had difficulty giving what they’ve never received. Some might have sorely disappointed. Some, may be ideal for the families with which they’ve been blessed, but no father…just like no mother… is perfect. And still, they matter so much. Their voices matter. Their presence matters. Their ability to show us how to overcome and keep going matters. Their hugs and embrace matter. Their prayers and public display of spiritual covering matters. Their life’s stories matter. Their hard work and display of integrity matters. The bass in their voice matters. The sternness in their foreheads matters. Their role of authority matters. Their insight matters. Their experiences matter. Their ability to lead, guide, direct and protect matters. Even their mistakes matter as a clear signal of what not to do or what to do better.

With the Father’s Day “faux” Fish Fry menu in tack I realized this year, probably more than most, I’m just grateful for my Daddy and fathers in general. I truly, truly am. My dad, like most of the men in my life including my brother, my uncles, and my beau have had quite a tough year. My once strong, tall, towering, business-minded, bill-writing, chauffeuring Daddy has been battling unexpected health challenges which literally knocked him off of his feet in February. He still has a road ahead of him for total recovery and healing, but has come so far. Within the blink of an eye, a lot of his primary roles in our lives have shifted or ceased as we all collectively focus on him…for once. Isn’t that the baffling beauty of life?  The man who asks for nothing now requires much. It’s an honor to be able to give it to him…with a cold beverage and remote in his hand.

 

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Yes, that’s a cold drink in his hand:)

 

 

@AngelaMMoore316

My Mama Didn’t Graduate on Time

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Little things I learn about my mom through the simplest of conversations can be my biggest lessons in life. A random afternoon conversation while I was traveling from one job to the next diverted from talk about the weekend to the statement, “Did I ever tell you I didn’t graduate from college on time?”

“Huh. What?” was my reaction, but I held it in as my sweet, almost 70-year-old earthly inspiration told me the interestingly, funny tale of how a beloved professor her senior year, who had entrusted my Mama to teach her Shorthand Class (Google it) in her absence, and often used her as a representative, gave her a “D” resulting in my Mama’s inability to graduate with the Alabama State University Class of 1968. I listened as my Mama told me how she tried her best to sway the teacher into a better grade. Not only did this professor give her a big, fat D, she and the college leader turned down the smooth talkings of my grandfather as he tried to convince them through subtle name dropping to graduate his oldest daughter. They both succeeded in being unsuccessful.

On the verge of truly feeling sorry for the 20-something year old who must have been devastated and embarrassed to no end by not graduating on time, my flirtation with pity on her was quickly interrupted by her sweet, reassuring voice and the confident phrase, “Oh well! Everything worked together for the good of those who love the Lord! It all worked out for me. Had I graduated on time I wouldn’t have gotten that GREAT government job that ASU selected me to work for in Federal Court that year. At my Daddy’s advice I finished the retake of the course I got a D in. I was assigned to do student teaching in the great Robert E. Lee High School and my teacher, Ms. Dixie Hicks ADORED ME. She got married and recommended me as her replacement… and I got your Daddy. The rest is history!”

And just like that, I was served up a mighty lesson from a seasoned teacher in the classroom and in life.

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  • Oh well!(That pretty much sums up a lot of things which hurt, but will end up helping.)
  • Father knows best.
  • Things don’t always turn out the way we want them to. (They often turn out better.)
  • Sometimes an A, B, or C can’t compete with a new career. (Regardless of a D.) (And by the way, guess who wrote her recommendation for the job…yep, the professor:))
  • The thing you think you fail at will be used to help others. (My Mama went on to teach Shorthand (Google it again) to high school students for decades. Like literally, decades.)
  • Sometimes a Bae or a Boo end up lasting MUCH longer than an A, B, or C, and certainly the sting of an ill-fated D. (My parents are officially 46 years married in June 2016, still hold hands and still go out on diabetes-approved hot dates!) (Ha! Take that D!)

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@AngelaMMoore316

Mama’s Cooking

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May 2, 2016

Mama’s Cooking

The words any child wants to hear from a Mama (who can cook) is “Come on over. I’m cooking.” The most recent Sunday supper my family enjoyed was extra-special because it had been three months or more since we’d gotten together as a family for a home cooked, southern Mama made meal.

On a rainy President’s Day 2016, an in-home accident changed my family’s otherwise normal routine and my Daddy’s life. Needless to say, with weeks of his hospitalization and drastic changes upon his discharge like dietary adjustments, therapy, doctor’s appointments, more than one dozens medications, limited mobility and around-the-clock watching we’d not gathered together for a meal made by Mama in far too long as she rightfully shifted her entire focus to taking care of husband. As my Daddy literally walks the path through to continued healing I had sort of settled in my mind that it’d likely be around the 4th of July or beyond before we gathered for some of our renowned family festivities. I would joke with my Mama in the weeks following my Daddy’s release from the hospital as she bragged on the healthy meals she’d prepared for them fitting to his new food way of life. In jest, but a bit serious, I would say how they could have at least invited us to eat the carb-counted, sugar-less, salt-reduced, same-time-a-day meals, which she would tout as “delicious”, and I believe had grown to appreciate them as a “date”. When life happens, it’s often the little things which mean so much that we missed the most. I’d missed my Mama’s cooking. So when the call came about a Sunday supper I did a little jig on the inside.

In no way doing it justice, take a peek at the picture of my Mama and quickly snapped pictures representing her reintroduction to the world as Best Cooking Mama in Maylene, Alabama! The grilled steak, fried pork chops, sweet potatoes, baked potatoes, black eyed peas, fried okra, brocolli, corn on the cob, and apple pie crumble were perfect. Even more perfect was the return to the routine which is my family. @AngelaMMoore316

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Five Steps to Overcoming Crisis in Your Relationships

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Originally written in 2003, I was tickled to see this post this morning following the message Pastor Chris preached at Church of the Highlands on Sunday, Marcy 6th.

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Crisis is bound to come whenever two or more people of different backgrounds, experiences and opinions come together. That’s especially so in relationships like marriage, family, social media and social settings and work environments. So how do you overcome crisis?

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Apply the 5 Cs

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Christ-Christ is, and always should be the center of everything you think, say and do. Before you proceed in handling a crisis consult Christ via prayer and His Word to see what He has to say about the matter. Acknowledge the Lord and He will guide you through this time of crisis (Proverbs 3:6)

Communication-Once you’ve sought the Lord, communicate your matters of the heart with those involved. Bottling in your feelings is not a solution. Be sure, though, to communicate lovingly, selflessly, compassionately and spiritually. Make your words as pleasant as a honeycomb. Also, pray to the Lord that He allow you to communicate at the right time. Someone once said that the right thing at the wrong time is the wrong thing. (Proverbs 16:24)

Counseling-The Lord places some people in our lives for the purpose of helping us overcome areas in which He has already delivered them. Seek out those persons. Whether it be a Minister, brother or sister in Christ or someone who has shared similar experiences, there is someone for everyone. When seeking Godly counsel, do know that the counsel will not always be comfortable. It may hurt and you may not want to hear it. Recognize that true Godly counsel does not always validate what you feel or think is true. In issues of relationships, it might cause you to see that the other person is not as much to blame as you would like to believe. Remember the way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise. (Proverbs 12:15)

Conviction- Allow the Lord to work on your heart to convict you toward His will for the relationship. Should you apologize? Are there some areas in your life that you have to die to? Are there outside influences that may be clouding your judgment? Spiritual conviction is not always pleasant. Just like being arrested for a crime. It’s painful. Prayerfully though, after your “arrest” you’re a better person, not willing to commit the same sins which placed you in the predicament. When you’re convicted by Christ regarding your relationship it may hurt, but it helps. Some parts of you will be challenged, but what the Lord evolves you into will be what God desires for the relationship. It will also equip you with tools to help weather other situations. (Romans 12:2)

Conversion-Conviction leaves room for conversion. A change must come. In order for you to completely weather the crisis in your relationship, someone or something has to change. It may be one of you. It may be both of you. Conversion does not equal guilt. It does not mean a green light for one spouse to criticize or point the finger at the other. It means that one or both persons was willing to allow the Lord to move in the relationship via Christ, Communication, Counseling and Conviction. Conversion means forgiving and forgetting what was and looking for what is to be. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

@AngelaMMoore316

 

 

I Don’t Want to Love You

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Sometimes love is easier said than done. Let’s just be real. There are people who represent situations, mindsets, circumstances and hurtful happenings which make the command to love a hard pill to swallow. That’s just the truth, yet we still have to do it!  We have to love. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s ever wanted to say, “I barely like you, your actions or reactions, so I shole don’t want to love you.”

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Yet, we are expected to love. Why? Because God said so. Because it’s the right thing to do, especially for those friends, family members, co-workers or former associates who we clearly don’t desire to have any fond sentiment regarding. Because it feels good to be able to push through anger and sincerely smile. Because it does no good not to. And because bitterness, anger, unforgiveness and hate are not worth it. They simply aren’t.

Here’s the deal about the whole love thy neighbor thing. Monopoly doesn’t make a “Get Out of Love Free” card and neither does God. It’s as simple as that. We must love.

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@AngelaMMoore316

A Taste of Baltimore

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A Taste of Baltimore

Recently I had a chance to visit Baltimore, Maryland to celebrate the birthday of a dear sister/friend. Braving the 17 degree temperature, and snow all around was no big deal, but no small feat for this southern girl born and bred. From Thursday to Sunday, as if we were high school teens again, we laughed until we cried, cried because we were actually crying, we celebrated each other, we caught up on things old and new, we posed for pictures, we had our faces made up, we enjoyed ah-mazing spa treatments and we ATE!!!! Boy, oh boy did we eat.

I won’t waste my mere words describing the delightful dishes we indulged in and engulfed from famous Baltimore spots like Shell’s 365 Deli where they specialize in a $5 meat and two which will make a southern grandma wave her flag in food defeat or Ships Café Restaurant and Crab House where the seafood is as hot, perfectly seasoned, abundant in portions and fresh as the staff is friendly. I wouldn’t whisper a peep about the hot, moist brownies which greeted us after completing our massages, facials and Blue Grotto mud baths at the Pearl Spa (Google it, honey!). I won’t tell you about how we visited the local P.F. Chang’s and literally ate a sampling of everything from land, air and sea. I won’t even mention the 12am late-night breakfast fest at Double T Diner where the portion of pork sausage was so large it would make Miss Piggy run for cover, or the Cinnabon trips which were right on time. And I certainly won’t tell you about ending our final meal at Fogo De Chao just near our East Harbor Marriott Hotel where we didn’t take many pictures of the food because, well, we (as in I) was embarrassed at how much meat (leg of lamb, lamb chops, chicken, sirloin steak, filet mignon, ribeye steak, and some other steaks) made its way to my mouth…over and over again.

What I will tell you is that we were blessed to be there and even more blessed to share this experience celebrating a true angel on earth, my sister Karla F.M. Reid Young.

Baltimore, I’ll be back and I’ll be ready for MORE when I return. #feedmeBaltiMORE

@AngelaMMoore316

West Endian Words of Wisdom

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I’m proudly from West End… a ‘hood in the western heart of Birmingham, Alabama. Known for many things, some good, some not so good, there are SO MANY success stories and fond memories from people who’ve been privileged to call this place home. #35211

Aside from learning how to pull a cardboard box out of the street with the quickness (or even knowing what “with the quickness” means), learning how to toss a mean double dutch rope, getting the little bit of street sense I do have, and enjoying the joys 19th Street and the surrounding areas provided me, I also learned some quick wit, and wisdom which has followed me all of my life.

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So I share with you samplings of my West Endian Words of Wisdom.

  • Just because I didn’t say it doesn’t mean it’s not so. You’ll know on a need-to-know, or never-to-know basis.
  • Never gossip to the ones who gossip with you.
  • There’s a difference in being fake and being polished…and I’m not talking about nails.
  • If it was meant for your mind to talk you out of your greatness it would be your mouth, not your mind. (Think about it.)
  • Everybody’s not your friend. But some people are.
  • Lotion and/or Vaseline are a wintertime must.
  • Be nice. You never know what a person is going through, or what you might soon go through.
  • When people choose to remove themselves from your life for reasons that are unknown or seem unfair don’t sweat it or fret it.
  • Sugar solves problems.
  • Lipgloss can never be to glossy.
  • The Prep and Cabbage Patch are always appropriate.
  • Your wolves often lead you to your sheep. Thank them for that.
  • Just because you’re grown doesn’t mean you’ve grown up.
  • Pretty and perfect are two different things.
  • Family doesn’t always have the same bloodline or last name.
  • Water from a hose won’t hurt you.
  • Putting your hand on your hip let’s them know you mean business…or that you think you’re really cute. It’s a win-win either way.
  • And when all else fails…a windmill is always in order.

 

@AngelaMMoore316