Happy Holidays

Excuse the hiatus! I went on a 10 day trip home to Atlanta followed by a little soul searching. The feedback has been great for the blog as friends and strangers alike share their like of the concept. Thanks much!

But then I had my doubts.

A) I didnt want to seem ungrateful of the phenomenal opportunity I had at my first job. I got my dream job at 23! And I had a great run. I am also never one to wallow, so when the pink slip came, I was already mentally on to the next phase of my life (my futuristic aquarius ways)

B) I didnt want to be branded as the laid off girl, or to wrap my identity in what could be a temporary thing. But after tweaking the header to reflect that fact we are making the most of a situatuion we didnt choose, I am ready to move full speed blogging, and boy do I have stories.

So "home" in Atlanta was many things. Great to see the family! Crazy hosting a princess slumber party for my ten year old sister and her 10 year old friends! Kicked myself for booking a trip sooo lonnng! By day five, i was ready to get back to Harlem. . .

It was the first time I visited Atlanta, and didn't have serious thoughts on moving back sooner than later.

It was the first time I felt like a visitor in a place that much of my mail still goes to.

It was the first time my mother had news on me she felt needed a press release for.

"So, what should I tell people?" she asked reluctantly when talking about me being laid off.

I laughed. "The truth mom, the truth." I was laid off. A fact Im not embarrassed about. Im still me. Im doing fine financially and doing some consulting that brings in steady checks, alongside severance.

And finding a speech I shared at a youth program in the city the year before made me smile. The theme was Solid as a Rock, and I talked about my then job and though cool, I couldnt build my foundation on something that could be taken away. I couldnt wrap my identity in something not eternal. because if taken away, I still had to be me. Not any less cool. God has such a sense of humor.

So Im back for daily updates on the laid life (including my first job interview next week, the first in more than a year) and nudging the BF to share more of his stories . . . while I was eating hot wings and watching cable in Atlanta, he was hitting up the Fela premiere dapping Jay-Z and Questlove, Im not jealous . . .really.

And speaking of Jay-Z, I blame his wifey Beyonce for the grown poses my lil sis and co had at the party!!!!