Living Life Abundantly

“He that can have Patience, can have what he will” — Benjamin Franklin

As time went by in that restaurant we laughed talked, watched, and waited. We are all familiar with that old saying “Good Things Come To Those That Wait.”  Experience teaches me that its true!

We got a really good laugh because comedian/actress Kym Whitley came through for her tickets and was cracking jokes the whole time.

She was very friendly, had a big smile, and seemed like a lot of fun to be around.

(Yes I know, this was yet another one of those missed opportunities.  I didn’t even think about taking her picture or asking for a possible interview lol, just didn’t cross my mind until of course after).  But she was hugging everyone and having a good time.  I hugged her too and enjoyed her company and the funny stuff she was saying about sneaking snacks into the inauguration.

I can’t even begin to recap the places she planned to hide her snacks… just know that Ms. Whitley is truly funny and I hope to one day ask her if she was able to bring in those snacks!

After watching the last person who had either just got in from Iraq or was picking up tickets for a relative that had just flew in from Iraq, they started shutting down shop preparing to leave.  They had been at that location for a long time disbursing tickets and prior to that they had a full day.  They had also distributed tickets from 11am to 1pm as previously mentioned.

The Right Place At The Right Time

You see, Willae and I hadn’t figured out our next destination.  We didn’t know where to go upon leaving the Tortilla Coast.  So we were not in a big hurry to leave because WHERE WERE WE GOING TO GO?  More importantly, we believed that our every step on this DC Adventure would be guided by a power much bigger than us.  Sounds crazy right? Ever read or hear that Proverb:

• In all my ways I acknowledge Him and He directs my path (Prov. 3:6)

Well when Willae was handed an envelope exactly like the one I received we knew it was just the beginning of our inauguration journey. It was a confirmation that our path was being directed. (Here’s a picture of Willae).

We practically ran out of the restaurant hardly able to contain ourselves still with no specific destination. We jumped for joy, we thanked God, we hugged, and repeated the process several times…(all of this outside in the cold DC air after 8pm).  As that cold began to set in, we started thinking about our next destination.

We both had some options but the main concern was how far we’d be from where we needed to be in a matter of hours.  We contemplated camping out at the gates but the fact that we had luggage and bags with us (which were not allowed in) killed that idea.

I knew that my friend Leslie’s parents were staying close by and that we might be able to leave our bags safely with them… unfortunately, they were already out and about so I couldn’t catch up with them.

I knew I had a cousin in the area but before I left California she told me that she would not be home that Monday until after midnight.  We had friends in Baltimore but that was just too far to go.  I also knew a wonderful family in Vienna (whom I’ll tell you about later).  We were getting cold out there trying to decide what to do.  People were asking us if we were ok.  I think they thought we were homeless.  It was dark.  We had a bunch of bags and we were on the side of a restaurant.  I guess we did look pitiful.

Hampton University Life Long Friends To The Rescue

We called our friend and sister Marci to find out if she had made it in town and to coordinate something with her.  When we got in touch with Marci she told us she decided not to make the drive.  In the conversation she mentioned our friend and sister Kamilah (my HU roomate) was at our friend and big sister Tara’s house.  I forgot that Tara lived in the area!  I did remember that at HU’s homecoming Tara gave me her phone number (which I wrote in my special journal book that I take every where).  We called Tara, told her where we were, without asking any questions, without hesitation, Tara told us to come to her house and gave us directions to travel via Metro.  (We had no idea that we were actually directly across the street from the Metro station. See how everything just flowed and came together).

We grabbed our stuff and headed to Tara’s.

She told us that she was going out and that Kamilah would pick us up from the Metro station near her house.

We got on the train and when we got off Kamilah was there waiting.

By this time it was well after 10 pm.

(Here’s a picture of me all bundled up on the train.)

We were cold and tired and happy to be amongst our HU family.

As it turned out, not only was Kamilah at Tara’s, her sister and son were there, and our friends and big brothers KK and Marcus were there too.

Our friend and sister Java was on her way.

Our friend and big brother Ron was in the vicinity at our friend and big brother John’s.

This was like homecoming all over again!  Our big sister Tara came through for all of us opening her home at the very last minute.  Apparently none of us had a plan but all of us knew we had to get to DC to witness this historical moment.
(Here is a picture of Tara)

Tara rolled out the hospitality and hosted us all.  (You are the best Tara Thank You!). We stayed up for awhile talking and catching up.

We knew we needed to be out of the house by 4am which meant we’d only get a couple of hours of sleep literally.

(Here’s a picture of Kamilah and I).

After traveling all day from the West Coast to the East Coast I was exhausted and drained but of course happy to be with friends (family) for such an awesome occasion.

I had a glass of orange juice (with a splash of vodka).

Kamilah and her sister and son slept in the room downstairs.  KK and Marcus slept on the couches in the livingroom. (Java hadn’t made it in yet). Tara showed Willae and I to her extra room across the hall from her.  We were so tired we actually fell asleep in our clothes….

Before going to bed I did attempt to blog but couldn’t get a signal (you know I don’t leave home without my Mac).  I learned some lessons in this long day:

1. Looks like I need to get a Wireless Internet Card ASAP!

2. Patience is a virtue:  “The principle part of faith is patience” — George MacDonald

3. Friends are blessings: “It is not so much our friends’ help that helps us as the confident knowledge that they will help us.”  Epicurus (Greek philosopher)

To Be Continued…

Majority Of The Photos From The Inauguration DC Adventure Are Provided Courtesy Of The Wonderful & Talented Willae Ivory

So I get up this morning slicked my hair back in a bun, put on my sweats, and my tennis shoes and made my way to the car dealership to get the car serviced. I got there at 6:53am they open at 7am.  There were no cars at the gate or near the gate so I pulled in right at the gate and waited. I’m thinking great!

A guy walks up and unlocks the gate and waves me in at exactly 7.

I pull in grab my purse and hop out of the car greeted the technician and told him why I was there.  We walked to the service desk he gave me some paper work and as I started walking towards the waiting area I see some other customers I greet them with good morning and a smile.  (Its just a common courtesy that I believe in and practice every day every where I go).

This woman SCREAMS at me: “Don’t smile at me lady, you cut in front of us, we were here first!”

I said (cool, calm, and collected), “Excuse me?  I’m sorry. I didn’t see anyone waiting when I pulled up.”

She screamed “We were all parked in line and YOU just jumped ahead of us!”

At this point I’m getting irritated (I hadn’t had my tall white chocolate mocha from Starbucks and my patience was running thin).  I said “There were no cars at the gate waiting.  I had no intention of cutting anyone.  How was I suppose to know that cars parked on the street away from the gate were in a line?”

Now this screaming woman was a good 100 feet away from me standing by her car…She’s making a scene… She screams “You’ve been here before you know we wait in a line on the street.”

Ok so now I’m thinking line? She’s crossed the line.  I’m about ready to go off. That old DMX song came to mind, you remember the one:

Yall Gon’ Make Me Lose My Mind Up In Here… Yall Gon’ Make Me Act A Fool Up In Here!

I don’t know this lady from a can of paint and she certainly didn’t know me.  She picked the wrong one!  A resolve came over me and before I knew it I had started walking towards her (still calm)… I said “I’ve only been here once during the day I don’t know anything about parked cars waiting in line…” the anger was coming out I got loud with it…next thing out of my mouth was “YOU KNOW WHAT…..”

Mind you…the techs, sales people, and other customers were all watching this go down.  As soon as I said “YOU KNOW WHAT” as I was making my way towards her (I think it was clear what was gonna be what)…one of the techs rushed over and said “It’s a good thing we have more techs than we do cars this morning so we can take care of everyone….” yada yada yada

She shut her mouth and went about her business as did I…but I have to be honest I was hot and was ready for her to say something else while waiting.  She walked by me but didn’t say anything, another lady came and started up a conversation…  I was there for an hour when my car was ready the technician apologized and asked if I was ok.  He explained that this kind of thing happens frequently and that its common sense to wait at the gate not parked on the street.  I agreed.  He went on to tell me how several physical altercations have occured because of that type of misunderstanding…

What did I learn from that situation? That I’ve grown…clearly I still have some growing to do…but when I was confronted by that angry screaming woman at 7 o’clock in the morning… I did not curse her out nor did I lay hands on her (I wanted to).  I remained calm.  Thanks to the technician for stepping in and the grace of God cause that could’ve gotten real ugly.  The other observation is that people are on edge, and some people think that they can just come at folks any kind of way.  Had she approached me differently I probably would have said oh take care of them first….  but her presentation was wack!

7 is often referred to as a lucky number. Some say it’s the number of perfection and/or the number of completion. I’m inclined to believe all three and then some. I’ll do my best to put into words the power of 7 women coming together in our monthly U Grow Girl! Circle of Thought meetings.

We have been going strong since September 2007.  Together we have set goals, achieved goals, celebrated successes, explored areas of opportunity, and identified personal strengths and weaknesses.

Our U Grow Girl meetings are a much needed outlet where we comfortably and openly express our feelings, thoughts, ideas, and struggles without judgment, guilt, shame, envy, gossiping or any other pettiness often associated with women coming together.

New comers to our group can feel the Love.  There is always a very strong warm welcoming feeling in all of our meetings.   The women of U Grow Girl exude: Love, Faith, Hope, Kindness, Patience, Diligence, and Humility.

Our diversity challenges us to see beyond our individual perceptions and paradigms, which enables us to see the bigger clearer picture in the grand scheme of things. With each meeting we learn more about ourselves, others, and life in general.

Over the past 9 months I’ve come to realize that having the support, encouragement,  knowledge, wisdom, and feedback from women of differing backgrounds and generations actually provides perspective that lightens the path to ultimate personal development and growth.  Our discussions always lead to (often times unintended) insights that each of us are able to immediately apply to our every day lives.

Our U Grow Girl meetings bring a whole new meaning to the saying, “Together Everyone Achieves More.”

In our last meetings we discussed the danger of anger, the importance of forgiveness, setting priorities, persevering through difficult times, and effective communication in relationships.  For the month of June we decided not to hold our regular meeting but to help one of our members move.  We don’t just talk the talk, we walk the walk, and together our efforts = U Grow Girl!