>>He Calls Me *Ma*>>

He Calls Me Ma..

My firstborn..

Inquisitive from the start

Not afraid to make his mark

Never often out of place

One step ahead in any race

Humble in every possible way

Yet..

Not afraid to have his say

I watched with pride as he took his first steps

Even more so when he eased through college prep

Rose to his defense when he was late to utter words

But..

When he began to speak he properly used verbs(& nouns)

In full sentences!

Was never an average child from birth until

Now..

Somehow I just knew he’d reach any goal he chose

And over the years he just rose and rose and rose

An outstanding mentor he’s been/IS to his brothers(and so many others)

No mother could’ve wished for a more perfect firstborn; no other!

With tear-filled eyes I watched his defense of his dissertation

Mere words couldn’t express my awe & fascination

Wow! I kept thinking>> that is MY son!

As we embark upon the few days left till his ‘last’ graduation

I feel compelled to write out my undying love & admiration

Thank you son for an amazing ride and plenty of adventures

You’ve worked so, so hard & diligently!

I’ve learned so much with you and from you..

Looking forward to vicariously enjoying all your future ventures

Your new dream job(woo hoo) & eventually your own family unit

Just..

Never stop calling me those two letters I adore; that only you call me

Ma..

And with private joy! for fun

I’ll call you those two letters that carry a beautiful melody

Dr.

Now that IS cause for a FIST BUMP..good news at long last^ Fist Bump Moments..

Not sure about ya’ll ; but my spirit has tired of hearing ONLY bad news. Why come good news doesn’t cover the front pages of newspapers? In light of all the awful, shocking! news..don’t we need to read/see news that warms our hearts from time 2 time? How about more often than not? Doesn’t sell papers nor fuel reality shows though..So this spot will be reserved for the many ‘fist bump moments’ ..they don’t get half the attention(our attention..) that they deserve>

**I woke UP this morning with several ‘fist bump’ topics on my mind..Trying to figure out which was the best to properly get this category opened..I had no intention of making it personal..And then epiphany! Why the heck not? It is after all my style to make things; personal. In a world filled with images & beliefs! that collecting material objects & wealth matters more than things that warm the heart..I refuse! to live that type of life. And so with that said I recently got FABULOUS news..It couldn’t be more personal. Hang onto your hats & wigs here I go>

~~It is official! My eldest son will receive his Doctorate, yep PHD(on a FULL academic fellowship), May 2, 2014..Not quite sure if even my penned words can fully capture the thoughts in my head & certainly my heart. But I’m going to try with all my might to break this down..This is the way I see IT>

What a journey, an awesome ride its been..From inside the womb YOU changed my life. Instantly. And since then? Your positive  words/your presence/your essence/your helping hand to the generation behind you/Your scholastic outreach to people of color/Your research in higher education/Your LOVE..has touched, changed, helped!, others and now? You’ll change the world progressively>

For all the times you were told what you couldn’t DO/For all the financial sacrifice over the years!/For all the times you watched friends marry &  have children/For all the times you wondered the many IFs you stopped at your Masters/For all the times you had NO family to talk to for guidance who already had their PHD/For all the times you just wanted to be doing other things besides studying/For all the times you traveled to places for research ..D.C., Cali, Ireland, South Africa, Chile, etc..and longed to be HOME/For all the times you missed your family yet couldn’t afford to get over-emotional about it/For all the times you faced the bitter cold in Michigan winters..YOU SURVIVED, you did IT..and your Momma couldn’t be any more prouder of you than I am and will always BE. I knew , always knew, you would do it..>

Forever humble & always keeping it REAL you’ve managed to do it all..Total well-rounded person..When next I see you I’ve got the worlds biggest hug, tons of kisses on your cheeks, heck of a lot of big kool-aid smiles, plenty of uncontrollable tears of joy and a FIST BUMP reserved just for son & Momma. GO Christopher & GO BLUE(I’m bringing my gold/blue pompoms!)

 

~Tribute 2 My Eldest Dr. SON~*DPPostADayCHALLENGE*~Berna’s Way..

>>I’m back ! And I’m going to wrap UP this week of leaving my carbon footprints  by giving props to my eldest son. My week began busy; ended busier. (and the upcoming weekend is JAM packed) This week is ending on such  a HIGH note for me..that I’ve GOT to blog about it. Hopefully my thoughts will help someone else out there to hold ON for the good happenings that this life holds for all of us…

**There once was a child born of a single mother. A child who never spoke the usual babbling which little babies speak. When he began to speak at almost 2 yrs old; those who hadn’t carried him in their womb for 9 months , thought something was wrong. His mother said he will speak when he has something to say! And when said child finally spoke he spoke in FULL sentences. WOW.  An  intense child and highly intellectual..from birth. Read to by his mother when still inside her womb. Loved, adored N cherished by his Mom before she ever laid eyes on him. Said son has shared his Mom’s love of reading, yea!, his entire life. Spent every summer in school since the 9th grade till now…Whose legs were so “bowed” they made his legs curve under him. He was WELL fed , lol! , and loved. Those bowed legs and lack of health insurance was the deciding factor for his Mom to leave college N join the military. As a single Mom she felt she needed a steady salary N health insurance for her son…I’m going to fast-forward through alot of this because emotions are running rampant N high this evening..

**My eldest son is the type of son that every parent DREAMS of being their eldest child! He has been N is an awesome  role model for his 2 younger brothers..Yet his humility is one of the most beautiful things about him. He has faced N handled adversity in his lifetime with grace , wit, intellect, and a very matter-of-fact manner. He just makes things look SO easy! He had a self-driven desire his entire life to attain a PHD..nothing less was going to suffice. He has gone to school including summers for 17 years(including high school) He IS an academic scholar N an academian. He’s traveled & done research to South Africa & Ireland; as well as countless cities in our country for academic conferences.   And tonight! he faced the Board at a prestigious University(and he is a PHD candidate there riding on a FULL fellowship)  in our country and defended his proposal of his dissertation for his PHD. And after 2 hours on his very FIRST attempt..passed with flying colors! What that means 2 me as his Ma..is almost to difficult to translate into words. What that means for our direct family on both sides of our family tree..is progress! Our very first Dr._____.  Proud can’t quite describe how I feeeeel tonight and have felt his entire life. This tribute is my attempt to express how I feel about my eldest son/his achievements/his humility/his love& concern for his younger 2 brothers/his remarkable REALness/his dedication of doing outreach to others considered minorities(his Masters thesis) /his love of family N his honor to his parent..his Ma..and his surrogate parents..his grandparents(my parents)

**A single parent ALWAYS worries about NOT being enough for their child. I always worried what my child was missing out on because his Father was NEVER a constant in his life ..nor has my son any recollection of what his Father even looks like. But not once has my son used that as an  excuse to fail(quite the contrary he’s always been an over-achiever/honor roll student/Who’s Who in Academia while also maintaining an active social life with an array of LIFElong  trusted friends)  nor has he expressed feeling any loss in  his life due to that being factual. His grands(my parents) stood UP and filled the gap. It has been an amazing journey..I’d like to say to ANY single parent out there the following:  IF you don’t have the physical or financial support from the other parent…reach out to others you trust in your family to fill in the gap. If that isn’t possible find & interview(and do background checks) a Big Brother/Big Sister through that organization. Reach out to trusted clergy and church members. It truly takes a VILLAGE, in my opinion, to properly raise a child . By whatever legal means necessary…

~When my son came into the world my faith in GOD was hardly apparent..I brought my son(s) to Mass wanting SO badly to believe fully in GOD; yet I didn’t. BUT I so wanted to! And as I look back on nights like this when I can hardly sit stillll because I’m SO excited/happy/content/overjoyed..I can clearly SEE how the hand of GOD was in every, single part of my life. Even long before I believed. It is ONLY by the grace of GOD and a patient GOD(that waited years for me to believe…) that I’m even around to taste the beauty of my son’s victorious achievement tonight. I give ALL the glory to GOD..I was prayed UP as my son went before the board..as well as called upon friends/loved ones from coast 2 coast to form a prayer chain.  I’d like to also  say;  single parents hold ON for as long as you do ALL you can DO with LOVE for your child..alllll the years of sacrifice! will pay off in great ways. Don’t lose hope(ever) and stand strong. And read, read, READ with and to your child..reading is truly fundamental. Try hard never to use the word never with your child. Encourage them to reach for their dreams; even if their dream seems impossible. Be their cheerleader!  I’m writing this tribute to my son tonight because he is SO humble he won’t pat himself on the back. So I am doing it for him! Years N years N years of hard work ..I’ve watched you (even from afar) with awe as you never buckled..just kept driving onward and forward. You’ve done things I dreamt for myself long ago…and now I feeeeeel like a part of me  has accomplished that dream. The part of me that is YOU. Many Congrats my Dr. Son! I love you always N always, Ma…