Singing “I woke up like this.  I woke up like this.”

That’s not exactly true.  I’m actually a morning person.  I woke up gratefully and prayerfully.    It only took about an hour for me to go from “bright shining as the sun” to hard-core rap lyrics I dare not quote in this format.

Something relatively minor happened and it pretty much ruined my day, made me adjust all my plans for the week, and caused me to act completely out of character.  It took one notification on my phone to take me from “Black Girl Magic”  to Black Girl Tragic.

As much as Queen Bey and I have in common, I can say without any hesitation that I am NOT flawless.  I think bad thoughts.  I say bad words.  I do bad things.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not a bad person.  I  try really hard to be a good person, but I fail pretty regularly.  Yesterday was one of those days.

But much like Mrs. Knowles Carter, I have a team of people around me who makes it their business to make sure I put on my best performance.  Unfortunately, i can’t pay my squad like Beyoncé does, but I surely wish I could.  Each of them is worth their combined weight in diamonds.  I would not trade them for anything.

My team isn’t flawless either.  Sometimes, they also have rough and tumbling days.  On those days, it is my job to be there for them, whether I’m having a good day or not.  I consider it a privilege to be able to serve them in their times of need.  It’s an honor to serve along side them.  It’s humbling to be served by them.

None of us is flawless, but when the light hits any one of us, we all shine.  I am grateful for all the precious jewels in my life.  (If you’re reading, this I consider you to be a jewel.) Thanks for helping me to shine. Get your sparkle on.

Mama Radford