Today is the first day of a brand new year!! Wow, 2014!! What does this year hold? First of all, think of the people who didn’t make it to see this year, and thank God you made it to see this day!! I always say be thankful for each and everyday and live it to the fullest! Last night when the clock struck midnight, I thanked God for my life, and for the lives of my family and friends. I then thanked Him for everything He has done for me in the past 49.5 years!! That was shouting news right there!!

Everyone think back to the worst year of your life and think how things eventually worked themselves out. Think about when you thought there was no way out, but you made it!! Now look at you today!! And guess what? God is not finished with you yet! It’s amazing at what we go through to get to where God needs us to be. He’ll lift you up, put you down, and turn you around to get you to where you need to be. But everything He puts you through prepares you for what He has in store for you. God has planned your life, and we just have to accept the plan. It may not go in any order we want it, but it is in Devine order.

On Monday, I had a long time friend heavy on my mind. I thought to myself, I gotta call Dee. But when I got home, I was so tired I didn’t call. I woke up Tuesday and he was still on my mind, so I text him just to thank him for being such a special friend in my life for so many years, and to wish him a Happy New Year. Dee text me back and told me he had fallen off a 10 ft ladder on Monday and broke his back! He was not paralyzed but just in a lot of pain. That’s just a sign of when the Holy Spirit reaches out to you to contact someone, do it!! Things can always be worse. I just thank God that he caught that fall and saved my friend!! We never question why it happened, we just thank God for the outcome!! And everyone please keep Dee in your prayers for a speedy recovery.

Take time to cherish the people who mean something to you this year. All those people that use you as a sponge, let them go. If they bring drama, keep it out of your life!! That will make you so much happier for the new year.

Well my subject was sporadic today, but just thankful!! That’s what I am. Thankful, blessed and ready to celebrate this year with all the life God has given me!!

Happy New Year!!!
Hugs & Love
The “Real” Mommie Teresa❤️

If you are anything like me, a nurturer, a protector, a Mother, a friend, etc.  You understand the meaning of taking care of everyone.  That’s what we do.  When I moved to Charlotte, I asked God, “why Charlotte?”  What was in Charlotte that God wanted me to find?  I had no idea why everything led me to Charlotte and why the transition to get here was so perfect.  It was almost heavenly! I mean things worked out to a science!! Scary right! But all I knew was that God has His hands in this! Lol.. So I never questioned anything, I just went with the flow.  And last night.. I got the answer..

I woke up today, and just heard the quiet whisper of.. “Spread your wings and fly.” So as I lay in the bed to meditate on what that meant, it all came to me.  Wow.. “I can now fly”.  Which means, this life I’m living in is now mine?  It belongs to ME.  Then I burst out laughing! God, when people say you are a comedian.. they were right.  Does anyone feel me yet?  Well let me break this down to you…

I never lived my life for me.  I was always making sure everyone else was taken care of. I put everyone before I put myself. I took care of my family, my friend, my children, my co-workers and anyone else who needed me.  But when I came to Charlotte, everyone was left behind.  I still took trips back and forth to take care of everyone, and be there for them when they needed me.  The longer I was here, the less trips I took. The less trips I took, the less phone calls from people I received. Then it got to a point, where I wasn’t going to GA, and I also didn’t get many phone calls.  I wonder why? But then, I started knowing who I was, and I started doing things for me.  I didn’t worry about anyone else, and I didn’t go out of my way to do anything for anyone anymore.  And then I didn’t hear from anyone.  LMAO!!..

Then on Christmas Day, the birthday of my GOD, He showed me why HE sent me here. To love me, and to show me that all the people I’ve vested so much time in, really didn’t have my purpose in their mind. It was about them.  Now it’s about ME!  Now I can really soar and find my true purpose in life! It took the Lord taking me out of my comfort zone, putting me in a strange place with strange people, to get to know me. And now that I understand, I accept and I thank you!!

So with this being said, look around you.. Look at the so called people who you think care about you.  If you didn’t do anything for them, would they still be around?  If you left and moved, would they come see you, call you, make sure you’re ok?  If the answer is “no”, find yourself!!  You’ll be amazed at what it’s like.  I am..

I believe I can fly, I believe I can touch the sky, I think about every night and day, spread my wings and fly away,  I believe I can soar, see what’s waiting thru those open door, I believe I can fly… NO… I KNOW I CAN!!!

So LORD, the obstacle blocking my blessings have now been removed.. I’m ready for what’s in store!!

Love Yourself Today.. AND FLY

The “Real” Mommie Teresa

As I look at all the pictures everyone is posting of all the gifts and toys for their children for Christmas, it takes me back to one Christmas I was financially struggling. That year I explained to the kids that they would not get as much as they usually get, because financially I couldn’t afford it, but I’d get them the main things they wanted. Their Christmas list was a lot smaller than it normally was, and I was able to get most of what they asked for.

That Christmas morning they woke up to a few less presents than they normally had, but they were happier than I’d ever seen them! I don’t know if they were happy with what they got, or they were happy to just be able to still celebrate Christmas with the love we shared. That one Christmas made me realize the true meaning of Christmas. The gifts were there, but the love overpowered any gift they could have gotten. If they only had one gift, they knew how much I loved them and how much more I wanted to do. I can remember tears rolling down my face, and Christina said, “Mom, you give us Christmas everyday! We are ok because you told us what was happening!” How powerful was that!

As long as your kids know you love them everyday, and some Christmases might not be filled with gifts, but the gift of love you give them will last forever!!
Everyone have a wonderful Christmas!! Enjoy the day with family, because someone won’t be around for the next Christmas!! Thank you Lord for the celebration of your birth!!

Merry Christmas
The “Real” Mommie Teresa

Interesting story.. I was in the grocery store and two young girls 17 years old was talking. I was looking for baking powder and one of them asked the other one what she got her boyfriend for Christmas. She said “I got him some jeans and a shirt”. The her friend asked what did she get her Mom? She said,”oh, she didn’t want anything cause she knew I didn’t have any money.” So y’all know me being Mommie Teresa… I had to get in on that one. I started laughing and I ask her, do you realize what you just said? They gave me that “who the heck are you look”. I told them, that first of all I’m a Mom. And the comment you just made was disheartening. You had money to buy your boyfriend a gift, but none for the woman who makes sure you have EVERYTHING you need in life?! She said her Mom didn’t want anything. I told her, that’s what we say when we don’t expect anything from you anyway! We say that to save face for you. And we already know that you aren’t going to buy us anything. So to make it easier on you, we’ll just say “I’m good”.

As a Mom, we will go to the end of the world, jump off, swim the seven seas, and jump back on the Earth for our children. There’s nothing they can ask for that we won’t attempt to get!! I told her, if you want to make your Mom’s heart smile, find a way to get her an unexpected gift. The boyfriend is special now, but you’ll have at least 3 more of them. You’ll only have one Mom. And the day God calls her home, you’ll wish with all you have that you can give her at least one more gift.

With that being said, the girl gave me a hug and said “thank you for that!” I never even thought she wanted a gift. Her eyes were filled with water and she said, I’m gonna take that outfit back and get my Mom something. I looked in my purse and saw a $50 dollar bill, and I put it back in my purse and told her, “that’s a good idea”! Lol. (Y’all thought I was about to pull a ole thankful gift thing..NOT). Thinking of her Mom first should come natural!!

So if your Mom says she doesn’t want anything, either it’s because she has everything imaginable, or she doesn’t expect anything from you anyway. Remember you only have one Mom. I wish like crazy I could take my Mom on a shopping spree and buy her everything she could ever dream of. But she’s my Angel looking over my life now. So think about that this holiday season!

Love & Hugs
The “Real” Mommie Teresa

My cousin GieGie and I wanted to have a girls day today, so we drove from Eatonton to Atlanta. The rainiest day I had seen in a long time. We didn’t really care about the rain, we just wanted our time away from everything to just talk, laugh and reminisce. We did that, and we had such a good time catching up with each other. We had lots of laughs, and even more when my cousin Darrell showed up!! Laughs for days. Then we went to our Cousin Shawn’s house and laughed even more!!

Once we headed back to Eatonton, we were on I-20 and we were riding in the storm. That was the hardest, most consistent rain, lightening and thunder, I’d seem in a long time. So I decided I had to drive slow, stay focused on the road, and the other traffic. I had to make sure to miss the extreme high water spots, and avoid collision with any other cars, walls, or bridges. We saw lots of cars with hazard lights on warning us of poor vision, that made me more aware of our journey. We went about 40 miles of heavy nonstop rain! Them when we got in Madison on 441, the rain had stopped. The road was clear, our vision was clear, and we could pick up our speed again.

We then had the discussion about how good God was. We had just went through that raging storm, but by slowing down and avoiding all the obstacles in our path, we made it through! So go back and read the obstacles again in case you forgot. That was life! Storms everyday will block your vision if you don’t take the time to maneuver your way they them. Once you make it thru the storm, it’s smooth sailing.

It’s storming right now outside and someone is out there in it. What’s going in in your storm, and how are you going to get out of it?

Hugs & Love
The “Real” Mommie Teresa

When I took this picture below, so many things crossed my mind. Where was his thoughts at the time? When you are getting older, and you’ve seen so many lives enter and exit this world, where are your thoughts when you look out at the ocean. We all think about Heaven and Hell, but really where are your thoughts when you look at an endless ocean.

I wondered what I would think of when I’m older and life is fading. I think it would be of my family. Will they be ok? I always try to enjoy life with them to the fullest so they never feel like they missed out. We only have one life. Live it as though each and every day is the last day. Live it and not care about what people say or think, live it so there won’t be any regrets!!

It’s so good to be in warm weather and hear the laughter from my Dad with my cousins. We stopped at a market and got fresh fish, shrimp, and his favorite..mullets. Lol. We did the beach and now to get a little shopping done and decide which route is next.
Well just a moment of life’s pleasures I wanted to share.

Hugs & Love,
The “Real” Mommie Teresa

On a breakfast ride to the Waffle House this morning with my great nephew and my granddaughter, my nephew said, “I hate when our family talks white”. I asked him, “who you talking about?” He said,”y’all, you and Aunti Chris.” I asked him, why is it that we sound white because we use the proper grammar? That immediately took me back to the days when we were kids and our cousins from Jersey came to Eatonton. We always told them that they talked “proper”. Which now I know it meant the used proper grammar.

But even now, when I may talk to someone in business, they’ll say, “you talking in your “white” voice”. Well let’s just get something straight.. Lol. Everything I say comes out of a black mouth by a black person!! When you learn to pronounce words correctly and use correct grammar, you can be black to do that. P.S.A…ALL WHITE PEOPLE DON’T USE CORRECT GRAMMAR!! Ask Honey Boo Boo, and the Duck Dynasty crew!!

Stereotypes really ruin our youth. My kids were country, but well spoken. I MADE them speak clearly. I made them order their own food, speak out in public, and speak to adults correctly. I corrected them when they were wrong. (And I still do) With that, they learned to speak clearly and proper, not “white”.

So young parents, please teach your kids that speaking correctly is not talking white. It’s speaking so people can understand them, and using the proper words clearly makes you sound educated. Don’t ever think that one race speaks better than another one. It’s just the use of proper Grammar. Ok, vent session over. Lol.

As always,
Hugs & Love
The “Real” Mommie Teresa

Why is it that we hold on to old stuff that we don’t need? If you go to your closet, you’ll find stuff that you should have thrown away years ago!! But why do you keep them? Maybe you think that style is going to come back, or you’ll fit into them again, or they cost too much. Well, I’ve learned that holding on to old stuff is holding on to old baggage!! Let that old stuff go!! As Bigma used to say, “leave the dead, dead!” So let me translate…
When it’s over, it’s over!! Move on!! You can never find something new when you got a closet full of old stuff!! That old stuff that you’re waiting to fit..may never fit again! Is it coming back to life? Hope not!! Because if it does, how long will it last?

Normally at the year’s end, I clean my closet! Which actually means “my life”! Delete those numbers you didn’t call in a year or didn’t call you. There taking up your memory space!! Delete the numbers that called with only drama!! They take up mental space!! If it’s over, stop trying to wish it back!! Ex’s are that for a reason! Double back and get double hurt is normally how it works. But like I said, if you stay in that same old closet, you wear the same old clothes!! So clean out that closet and get you a new wardrobe!!!

Now let me start my Day 2 vacation!!

Hugs n Kisses,
The “Real” Mommie Teresa

So the morning began with a great breakfast at waffle house. Had grilled chicken, grits, eggs, and hash-browns. After that fulfilling breakfast, I decided to travel north of Atlanta toward the North GA mountains. Figured it would be a great place to take a nice mountain photo and a stress free day.
Well the weakness set in as I passed the Georgia premium outlet mall!! How can I pass a premium outlet mall and not go shopping? Well my first stop was the Bose store! My favorite since I love music so much. Next stop White House black-market outlet. So I find so many outfits that I have to try on!! I’m like a kid in a candy store…. just excited to be in my favorite store getting my shop on. Then tragedy happens!!!

I all of a sudden look at my phone and I see 10 withdrawals from my checking account!! All of them were for $68.55!!! WTH!! So I immediately call my bank, how about someone is in France at a cigar shop using my account!!! They transfer me the Fraud department and they shut off my card! Only me!! Lol!! So I’m in the middle of trying on ALL these daggone clothes!! I told the lady on the phone…hold on honey, I need some money!!! So my bank rep stayed on the phone with me until I went to the ATM and took out some cash!! Thank you USAA!! Now that’s a mess!! Sooo I just bought only half the clothes and headed back to Atlanta. No need going to the mountains with no access to my cash!!!

So back to Atlanta I go. Enroute I talk to my Baby Boy who was downtown. So we met at one if my favorite places and had Spinach Chips and conversation!! Which was better than ANY mountains I could have seen!! So just know that God’s plan is always different than our plans. So His plan was for me to have an amazing conversation with His new born again son!!! What a great day!! Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!! And the Spinach Chips look like a mountain!! Ain’t that amazing!! Lol.

Hugs and Love
The “Real” Mommie Teresa