I know my kids like I know the palm of my own hand. I can look at each of them and know exactly what they may be feeling or lacking. I know my husband, too. I can tell when something is wrong and I can tell when all is right in his world. I can evaluate and supply the basic needs of my immediate family almost without effort.
The question of the day (of this series) is… am I that in tune with my gut feeling when it comes to me?
I wrote in my blog, “Unpacking- Part 1“, how I often lack fulfillment until I see someone else’s need being met… and that finding things I personally enjoy, that make me happy, is possibly the key to reconnecting with the inner me.
I often forget to stop and check in with myself when I am life-sculpting– creating, molding, shaping– switching from one task to the next as if life were an origami paper fortune teller…
…I slow down and lift my layer, revealing an honest-to-God truth…
I have not had a girls weekend since college!
And so, the second bag I am unpacking in this Serenity Sunday series is: Introvertism. In our very loud social world, I often feel like the person so committed to the quiet revolution that I forget to connect with people who genuinely make me better.
To Fix This: I am going to spend more time with the vital women in my life, and hopefully pursue a trip/getaway on an annual basis.
Recently, I and eight of my girl friends kicked it in Atlanta for a fun-filled, serio-comedic bachelorette weekend. The time we spent opening up, bonding, life-relating, and emotionally vibing, was so rejeuventaing. I enjoyed seeing what naturally started off as mom or wife guilt, turn into healthy self-gratification and a hearty reminder that we must absolutely remember to celebrate the hard working women in our circle.
Here’s to love, friendship, sisterhood, the beautiful bride-to-be, and positive interactions with others. ❤
End of Part Two.
Clinnesha is a writer, wife, mom, meta-artist, and social entrepreneur who feels most accountable to southern, black citizen-artists, elders, children, and families. Her work is at the intersection of arts, culture, innovation, and community.
TheWRITEaddiction.com 
Sis! This message will preach. I am kinda ready for us to retire the labels of introvert and extrovert and perhaps come up with something far more useful to help us toward healthier life practices. I feel like those labels have allowed both camps to settle for what is “comfy” or “easier” rather than what is helpful for our whole selves. People need people. That is not an extrovert exclusive. Women especially need women and in different concentrations for various occasions of life. I didn’t realize how much of a deficit I carried in my life from limited contact with my line sisters until our recent reunion. These are women who are very important to me and I allowed life business and distance to choke off our connection. I am so thankful that I made the time to go. And it was really a faith move of my heart. I had just quit my job, I didn’t know where the money was going to come from. I wasn’t sure how some would react when we got in the room together. And you know what, the Lord blessed it to be a wonderful time of renewal and rejuvenation. These women are important to me and the even greater lesson I had to learn was that I matter to them as well. We are better together. So, I am learning to lean into yes when I have the opportunity to nourish those and other relationships in my life. Social media is nice but I require real facetime on a regular basis. And I know people joke with me about hardly ever being home (though that’s not true, I am home a good bit, I just don’t share those moments as much in social media) it is important for me to stay connected to my friends and family network and I happen to be a born connector so it’s gonna be me in the car, plane or train and that’s okay because I love to travel. I pray that the Lord will bless my hubby and I with strong friendships locally while I acknowledge that He has blessed us with an international network of amazing friendships which means that we “friend” differently than many folks. And that is okay as well.
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