Skip to main content

MY MAMA DIDN'T RAISE NO FOOL


My mama didn’t raise no fool. So when my very special friend asked me a very hard question, I knew to be exceptionally careful with the answer. I knew what was in my heart to say. I also knew what was in my friend’s heart not to hear. And so I said nothing. I told him that I didn’t know, that I had no answer.

I am fairly certain that if I had been totally honest I would have been setting myself up for rejection. Disappointment can be brutal. Purposely walking into its path is foolish. And my mama didn’t raise no fool.

Now I’m sitting here angry. Angry at myself, and him. But I couldn’t, however, begin to tell you what the heck it is I’m angry about. Being angry made me ugly. That ugly came spilling out like water from an open faucet. I’m still apologizing for my behavior and still appalled at myself for acting so badly.

What I know is that I’m frustrated. Lately, conversations started with good intentions always seem to turn into indictments about things I cannot begin to change and events that have no bearing on the here and now.

What I see is that judgment is being passed against me, the weight of it suffocating my spirit.

What I feel is profound sadness that someone who should know me well, doesn’t seem to know me at all.

And I’m confident that this will all soon pass if I'm willing to make the effort. It'll be like climbing one big ass tree and if I'm careful how I step I will be better for the experience.

But just in case it doesn’t, I’m already prepping the brick and mortar to shield myself from the hurt of it all. My mama didn’t raise no fool.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

DAMMIT, DO BETTER!

I love reading. I get excited when I discover a new author or find an outstanding story. I’m eager to leave reviews and share with others my new finds. When a book or story is lackluster, leaving me less than thrilled, I usually remain silent. I know the effort that an author has put into a story. I know how hurtful a bad review can be. It is not for me to dash anyone else’s dream because what I might not have liked, someone else may have loved. Recently I read books that left me disappointed, and angry. One was an award-winning title, the author gleefully claiming a coveted statue for her efforts. Clearly what I hated, others found award-worthy. And that actually scares me. The story was as well-written as any other in the genre. Its formulaic plot hit all the buttons that her publisher required. But as a woman of color, I found it as insulting and as distasteful as any story I have ever read. The story featured a Native American heroine. She had self-esteem issues, co...

THANK YOU AND GOODBYE FOR NOW!

I remember when I first started this blog. It was 19-years ago and I anxiously anticipated it running on forever and ever. Because I loved to write, I never imagined that there would come a time when I wouldn't have something to say or want to tell you a story. The influx of social media has changed the dynamics of what happens here. And for that reason, I believe the time has come for me to say goodbye to my "blog". But not whole-heartedly goodbye. Just arrivederci  and adios to what I do, or rather, haven't done in some time, in this particular space.  I will continue to write. Writing is in my DNA. Writing is my super-power and I'm not letting that go just yet. I'll still be all over social media trying to leave a small footprint in this vast, wide world. You'll still be able to find me on FACEBOOK , INSTAGRAM , THREADS , TIKTOK , and now the newbies, BLUESKY and SUBSTACKS . I'm still treading cautiously as I find my way but I'm hopeful someth...

NAUGHTY OR NICE TOUR - DAY 6 - DEBORAH FLETCHER MELLO

I'm so excited to be a part of the NAUGHTY OR NICE BOOK BLOG TOUR. And it gives me great pleasure to give you the first peek at my next release, PLAYING WITH FIRE . Available from Dafina books on February 24, 2015, wherever books are sold, PLAYING WITH FIRE is the first in my two-book Sultry Southern Nights series. ENJOY this excerpt and please, PRE-ORDER your copy today! Romeo Marshall is over six feet of cool, smooth, hot, southern seductiveness--just like the music at his popular Raleigh club, The Playground Jazz and Blues Bar. With his beloved mother gone and no father he's ever known, the business is Romeo's everything. It's a place where anything can happen--and the evening one gorgeous young woman and one intriguing old musician walk into the bar--and into Romeo's life--it does. There's something about high-powered, down-to-the earth Taryn Williams that captures Romeo's attention like no other woman has. Yet unanswered questions from his past s...