Soulful Sunday - I Work, Baby

This past week has been the first week of 2018 where I actually got some stuff done. We got back to Columbus on the first go January and Baby K came down with a cootie or two. Picture super clingy baby, exhausted mama, doctor visits, fevers, puke and poop. Yahoo, right? Not so much. 

Once we got from under that cloud I learned that another one of my friends passed away. One in December-- his memorial service was the second, and one in January... just a few days after his 46th birthday. The death of folks that you grew up with takes your breath away. Even if you know that they are ill, it is life altering to go to memorial services for people who are your age and have so much more life to live. 

So, I have been experiencing my own Private Idaho over here. But this last week, my mind has really kicked into gear and I have tried to get back to a regularly scheduled program around here. I have cooked a couple dinners, done some business planning, planned some PheMOMena Blog posts and taken Baby K out of the house a couple times. Here is to getting back on the horse and getting the job done. 

Big Daddy Kane - I Get The Job Done

Love and Happiness - Work Life, Home Life

I am officially unemployed. One of the hardest sentences I have ever typed. So, yeah. It has happened before-- in 2008 and 2009. Crap economy, working for two non-profit organizations, bound to happen. I was bummed. Laid off, new(er) mortgage in a less than desirable Chicago neighborhood, wondering what the hell I was going to do with my crazy life. I was scared. I worked temp jobs- two and three at a time- had some help from family and friends, lived off my savings and got unemployment when I could. Hard times.

This time is not that. On Friday, March 13 I put in my two week notice to leave my job. My cousin had just passed away, I was going through it... doing some self examination and you know what?  I wasn't happy. I mean, listen, a job is a job and all days won't be fantastic-- we all know that. But when I thought about where I spent the vast majority of my time, what I was doing every day, what kept me away from my family, I just didn't want it to be what I was doing. The company is ok, I have no (abnormal) complaints about my co-workers, the management mirrors most management... The issue was me. My heart wasn't in it and I dreaded going-- every day, not just Monday. And when you are reminded-- clearly reminded-- about the extreme brevity of life, why would you continue to do something that doesn't make you happy?

So I had a talk with Lefty and we decided that the best option was for me to leave. Now, I am not saying that the option I chose is the best option for everyone. In fact, some of my co-workers seemed really upset that I was leaving a steady paycheck to "sit at home and depend on my husband." Couple things-- 1. that is not what is going on here BUT 2. if it WAS... Y'all already know what I am going to type: what happens in my house is my business. A steady paycheck is not the end all be all, especially  in my situation. Too many of us are out here selling our souls and our happiness for a paycheck from someone else-- some out of necessity, some out of greed. If I can be fulfilled AND paid, I am going to take that option-- and firmly believe that others should too.

I am EXTREMELY blessed to have this option and so grateful to Lefty for being completely supportive in this unorthodox decision. Not many men, in today's economic climate, CAN or WANT to have less income coming in on a regular basis-- even if the happiness of their spouse is in question.   So, thank you, my darling. Here is to the next step in our household... let's see what trouble we can get into! :) Look out, Columbus... Miss Mox has broken free!

Dream Deferred?

Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, as I am sure that everyone knows. Pictures of Martin Luther King, Jr. along with quotes from his I Have A Dream speech made the rounds on every social media outlet that I subscribe to. Media aided in the hype (as usual). People changed their profile pictures to black and white photos from the day in question. Activists linking arms, raising their voices in one unified tone, declaring that the status quo wasn't good enough. Using one voice to say that the bare minimum was no longer acceptable. I saw those pictures and my heart jumped and fell- all in the same moment. The history nerd in me rejoiced and the realist in me looked on with sad eyes and a sorrow filled heart. Being able to look at those pictures made me so incredibly happy to see what kind of stock American people come from, yet so ridiculously upset at the static state of our society today.

I think that I have typed these words before, so the following should come as no shock: We are NOT living the dream that MLK was talking about. I am not part of the group of people who think that JUST because our President is Black we have overcome. We, as a society, are further behind than we were 50 years ago, in some aspects. Women and minorities still get paid less than white men on a regular basis. Minority children still get a substandard education when compared to the education received in primarily white neighborhoods. Racial injustices still happen daily. Gender discrimination is an every day occurrence. Rape is an EVERY day occurrence. Disenfranchisement happens in polling places AND in state legislatures in 2013. War is happening. The American public is paying with tax dollars AND the lives of our beloved soldiers EVERY day and it is not being reported in our 24 hour news streams. Our leaders are corrupt and WE are not holding them accountable for their actions. Our troops and the elderly are being bilked out of their hard earned money and being left to suffer alone- by the government and their families- in assisted living facilities. Worst of all, we do not have a promising field of minority leaders who are battle tested and ready to take their place on the front lines to fight against inequality.

That last sentence is what I believe will kill the dream altogether. People have been lulled into a false sense of security. They sign an online petition and figure that they have done their job. There is no sense of unity- everyone is too obsessed with the next new thing, new group, new iPhone. They are way too willing to talk about rap verses and not willing enough to defeat their neighborhood thugs. They are way too concerned with fast ass musicians at an awards show than helping the family down the street put food on their table. People are willing to wait in line for some limited release sneakers, but won't wait in line to register to vote. Some think that BECAUSE we have a Black President that the fight is over. It isn't. Your oppressed brothers and sisters are out there- and they need your help.

Don't let the 60s be repeated. Don't let the work and the deaths of the people who sacrificed everything be in vain. Get out and make your dream, and the dream of your neighbor, come true. We are all fighting for the same thing, right? The ability to live our lives, take care of ourselves and our families. Don't quote the I Have A Dream speech to me. Live it daily... and you will get my attention.