The Honeybee's Lifestyle

Tag: Lessons

  • Live Life NOW!

    Hello Honeybees,

    This last year has really taught me some lessons. Thankfully the lessons were taught lessons instead of bought lessons. Bought lessons can be very expensive both emotionally and financially.  One lesson that I am taking to heart is to enjoy life everyday. For the purpose of this post I’m talking about enjoying material things. I’ll address the other ways I enjoy life outside of the material in future post.



    In July I will celebrate year 54. This year is significant to me because my mom passed when she was 54. I think about where I am in my life vs where she was at the same age. We are both single parents, hers by death and mine by divorce (kind of the same thing…just kidding). We both were homeowners (although I downsized a few years ago). Also, neither one of us at this point had ever lived alone (I’m working on emptying my nest but no real rush).

    I think about how when cleaning out her closet there were clothes that still had tags on them. I think about how she waited until she felt that I was on solid footing before she decided to truly enjoy & embrace life. She was on a Cole Haan binge because I was working at Nike & they owned Coke Hahn at the time (discount!). Our last shopping trip together would be her last shopping trip ever. That night she would suffer the fist of several strokes.

    She took me to JCPenny’s at the Mall of Memphis to buy me maternity clothes. I fussed the whole time, because I could afford to buy my own clothes, until the cashier said “baby let your momma spoil you”. I’m glad that my my well being was so important to her but at the same time I wished that she would’ve been a little bit more selfish and put her happiness first.

    So at this point in my life I’m all about spoiling ME and having some of the things that bring me joy. Of course this is all within reason because like her I want to leave a legacy for my children & grandchildren, but I also don’t want to wait until it’s too late. I deserve to live my life NOW and to enjoy it NOW. This year I will obtain 3 luxury to me items. I haven’t decided on which 3 but one will be a purse and one will be a coffee maker. These might not sound like much to you but to me they have deep meaning. These items will represent me living, embracing and enjoying life. So whatever it is that you keep putting off…STOP and do it NOW!

    Happy Birthday Momma!! Your baby is still listening and learning and enjoying life.

    Beewisdom- What is bad about luxury as long as you can afford it? – Diana Dors

  • What I Know For Sure

    What I Know For Sure

    Hello Honeybees,
    Today I am blessed to celebrate my 53rd trip around the sun.
    I thought I would take this moment to share a few things that, as Oprah would say, I KNOW FOR SURE. Let me add that these are things that I know for sure in my life. These are my experiences that came by way of some hardheaded bought lessons.

     

    What I know for sure:
    • You are never to old to learn
    • Surround yourself with people that care about your heart
    • You are NOT always right
    • Age does not mean mature
    • Having someone that truly loves you matters
    • You need people in your life, life is lonely and boring without others
    • You have been hurt but you have to learn to trust again (easier said than done but worth it)
    • You can enjoy life AND save for a rainy day
    • You need to travel the world to broaden your horizons
    • Your city is what you make it, Aint It Mane!

    • Everyone will not like you & that’s okay
    • Your home should be a place of peace
    • Your perfect kids are not perfect
    • Your perfect spouse is not perfect
    • Keeping folks out of your business reduces gossip
    • You can start over

    Photos by Christine Phillips
    • Bad times don’t last always & neither do the good times. Learn from both
    • Listen to your body
    • Your timeline is your timeline, stop comparing yourself to others
    • You can be in a room full of people and still be lonely
    • At the same time alone does not mean lonely
    • You can kick yourself or you can kick but!! The choice is yours

    I hope that you enjoyed my list. What is something about life that you know for sure?

    Beewisdom- You catch more flies with honey, be nice to people.
  • Q2

    Q2

    Hello Honeybees

    We are at the midpoint of 2020 and boy a lot happened in the second quarter. The first quarter for me was about Lent, hanging out, girlfriend time and thinking that by now the world would be back to normal. As we now know the world is anything but normal. 

    Protest

    Q2 brought us the stark reality of everything that is COVID-19. We went from dining out to curb side pick up. From everyone HAD to go into the office to everyone NOW working from home without an end date. From in person meetings to ZOOM, which I am SO OVER at this point. From washing your hands to washing your hands AND wear a mask AND stay 6 ft apart. To add more craziness people are actually refusing to wear a mask. How much more outrageous can we get? Well, keep reading.

    On top of a global pandemic we also have to fight racism but this time on a much different level. It’s not like Black people haven’t been fighting but we haven’t, in my opinion, seen this level of activism since the Civil Rights Movement. We are STILL fighting for basic human rights, like….walking in the park, jogging down the street, going to the store, SLEEPING IN OUR OWN BED without losing our lives. We wish we had a true leader to help guide us through this period but unfortunately we are on our own. In November…..VOTE!! VOTE!!! VOTE!!!

    Personal

    On a personal note I stepped outside my comfort zone…. I started wearing my natural hair and I did a Facebook live. 

    Quick hair story. I started transitioning in late 2018 by wearing braids. I wanted to “go natural” for years but was scared. Scared of what my natural hair would look like and how others might perceive it. Well I got over the what others might think part real quick and embraced my now fro. If you don’t like my fro then that’s on you. Blog post about this coming soon.

    The Facebook live was for Beautiful Spirited Women, an organization that empowers, support and build confidence in young women. Up to this point I had never done a live. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been on live television several times and that didn’t bother me. For some reason Facebook live scared me but it didn’t stop me. It was a wonderful experience of me sharing my blogging journey. I’m ready for another one….Who’s next?

    Purchases 

    I’ve shared some of my quarantine purchases here but for Q2 I made an effort to support Black women owned businesses. I received my first CurlBox. CurlBox is a natural hair product subscription founded my Myleik Teele. I purchased local honey from The Tea Bar by DIVINITY, got my Juneteenth tshirt from Ivy Storehouse and a new print from She is This.

     

    As we head into Q3 and my birthday let’s all embrace that the world that we once knew is no longer a thing. The world is changing. People are sick & tired of being sick and tired. If you don’t know who said that….Google it!

     

    How was your Q2?

    Beewisdom- BLACK LIVES MATTER