I remember when Saturday mornings were sleep in days. Days to sit in front of the t.v. eating a bowl of cereal and watching cartoons. Not just any cartoon. Tom and Jerry was the best. Admittedly though, I never really knew who was who. I mean, who was the cat and who was the mouse? (I sure hope this is a judgment free zone! 😅) It didn't really matter. I still laughed throughout the whole thing and looked forward to my morning routine. On most Saturdays, my cartoons were followed by a series of dance classes. Ballet. Tap. Jazz. I had a routine and carried it out for many years.

As time passed, my routine changed. Many years later, I found myself creating a Saturday morning routine for my daughter. I needed to guard her time. I needed to control her environment. I needed to protect her developing a spirit of laziness. She needed a routine.

Having relocated from Philadelphia to Tallahassee and transitioning from a two-income household to a single-income household, the options for ro…

Life was beginning to wear us down! Our days were draining the life out of us, so 9:00pm was mommy and daddy t.v. time. He would lie on a blanket on the floor and I would lie on the couch. Occasionally, we have our cell phones in hand. On this particular evening, the periscope symbol popped up on my screen. When I saw who was broadcasting, I immediately clicked the button to view the scope. I listened to this couple have a fun and frank conversation about relationships.
It was early February and I began to feel myself sinking into a pool of emptiness. My heart was broken. My joy was gone. My church affiliation had turned upside down in the blink of an eye. I felt completely disconnected from God. I felt like I was talking, asking, and crying out to him but receiving the silent treatment in return. I felt like I was running around in a circle and not getting anywhere.
My husband and I were on the brink of celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary. I was clear that this milestone was a …

“Mom, would you let me wear eyeliner and mascara?” This was the question of the day from my oldest daughter when she was in middle school, somewhere around 12-years old. Without thinking and with no hesitation, I responded “Sure, when you turn 16!” Where did that age come from? I still ask myself that same question every day. I know I spit it out so quickly because I used to hear my mother tell me that. If you’re in your thirties and beyond you know we didn’t question momma back then. Whatever she said went. So I assumed there was some rhyme or reason. But nope! It’s an arbitrary number…at least it was in my home. Arbitrary is the only word I could use to describe it. The magic number was definitely set ‘based on a random choice or personal whim.’ The last couple of months have reinforced the idea that I need to be more careful with setting arbitrary boundaries. Here are the specific lessons learned: 
1.Mindless decisions made on a whim may hinder preparation. Sometimes, if a decision is m…