tales and gems from the attic...an unexpected memoir in the making

Mom: "I need you kids to come home for the weekend at the end of June because we are cleaning out the attic. We have way too much stuff up there and none of it is organized. You kids will need to decide what to keep, what to toss and what to give away - we don't mind storing anything for you but you must sort through it. We will work until we get it all done."

Me: "ummm, uh, hhhmmm, well I might be able to, um we'll see...okay, I will be there.

Brother: "when in doubt, toss it out...be prepared for many many trash bags."
Sister-in-Law: "some ground rules from a book I once read - plan on getting rid of 1/3 of what you have - if things are so important to you, then they should be on display or in use, not in a box collecting dust...if you touch it, do something with it..."

Dad: "I might agree to get rid of at least 1/3 of my stuff...then again, I might be lying."

This is how it all began...and I had no idea what I was in for...or perhaps I did, as my initial hesitation would suggest. What started out as a seemingly routine and daunting task quickly became so much more...suddenly dusty boxes full of God knows what, old letters to and from, tattered books and newspaper clippings, sights and smells of many years full of yesterdays and the many other morsels we one by one uncovered, meant something more...to me...memories that needed recalling, loves that longed for re-discovering, life that needed re-claiming, junk and clutter that needed reconciling...dealings...permanently and for real.

So herein reside the kindlings of my dealings...publicly and on display so that I might be reminded and held accountable to this process... just as were the heaps of trash in the sideyard, out of plain sight, waiting for the trips to the dump....just as were the bags upon bags of "giveaway" piled high in every available vehicle...just as were the bare, dusty, dirty yet solid floors of the attic in need of a good sweeping....just as were the clusters of creatively yet organized boxes, tubs, and trunks of "safe to return to the attic" stuff...just as are my memories, my experiences, my childhood, my past...so many lessons, so many insights, so many manys...tucked safely away.

Volume 1, Childhood
So Many Firsts, So Little Time
Threads: The Significance of a Stitch
My Life (so far) as a Bookworm, apples not included
Clement Jack of the Cabbage Patch
Millions of Unusual Small Creatures Lurking Everywhere
Whose Gonna Ride Your [My Little Ponies]
Strawberry Shortcake: a Doll and a Dessert
The Not-so-Yellow Yellow Brick Road (mile 1)
The Little Ballerina Who Could - I think I Can, I think I Can

Volume 2, Adolescence
The Shelf-Life of Barbie
Sequened Scrunchies and other accessories of life
The Redwood Sisters, Live and in Concert
Drama Club for Girls - I'm not only the President, I'm also a member
Rah, Rah, life is Blah: Principles of a Cheer-ocracy
The Not-so-Yellow Yellow Brick Road (mile 2)
Girls Behaving Badly - we wrote the book
I Have the Plaque(s) to Prove It

Volume 3, The College Years
The Art of Belonging: Which of these things is not like the others
Hello Person, are you there, its me Body
The Return to Real and other Adventures of a Used-to-be-Blonde
Life Upon the [ wicked ] stage
Coffee and Cigarettes: A Guide to Truck Stop Therapy
The Not-so-Yellow Yellow Brick Road (mile 3)
Into the Hairbrush: Greatest Hits
A Few Good Men Sacred
Femininity: Teatime, Faeries and Hearts of Space

...to be continued...

The coming days offer much opportunity for reflection and reflect I shall...in preparation for a mini-memoir...in pictures and in stories...for real...I'm doing it.

things to do while on my mini- vacation

some may criticize my desire to create a "list of things to do" on vacation saying it defeats the purpose of a vacation however, there is something comfortably accountable about throwing it out there -- it infact ensures that I really do take a break and that everything on the list is a "want to" not a "have to" ;-) It allows me the freedom to look forward to next week instead of getting bogged down in this week; it provides the proper "butt kicking"(as a dear friend would put it) I definitely need to re-visit some long neglected projects; it releases me from others' priorities for me and allows me to dictate my own; it fuels my inner child to imagine being with sun and sand if even only for a few days; it reminds me that taking a step back and getting recharged is not a sign of weakness but rather a wonderful (and dare I say necessary) thing to experience.

so i have a list...and unlike my other lists, the order of it is irrelevant...how liberating.

• put on flip flops (shown in picture above - yes they are actually mine and they are already perfectly positioned waiting for my feet.)
  
• Grab sunglasses (also shown above, though I may switch these out for my new favorite black and white polka dot pair)
  
• walk up to boardwalk for a morning latte-esque treat
  
• Indulge my A.D.D and stop as randomly, frequently or as seldomly as I want while out and about
  
• Letters from the Porch -of the pen to paper variety-to my boyfriend, friends and family I miss dearly
  
• run my feet through cool, damp sand on the beach at dusk while wearing my favorite Scan the Van hoodie and finishing reading Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho
  
• getting crafty with mom - she inspires me.
  
• sunrise/sunset photographing with dad - we love this.
  
• create my own postcards - to prove I did at least one thing on my list ;-)
  
• eat Johnsons famous caramel popcorn, Mack and Mancos pizza, and of course a salt water taffy or two (but only the banana flavored)
  
• morning runs/walks/beach stretching in preparation for Relay for Life - somehow working out at the beach feels like alot less work.
  
• riding the Wonderland Pier Ferris Wheel at least once - the view alone reminds me why I appreciate New Jersey
  
• play scrabble, Trivial Pursuit or Texas Hold 'Em with mom and dad - if mom has any say, we'll be pulling out the chips - I think she might be addicted ;-)
  
• walk, walk and walk some more...
  
• and do whatever I "waaannnnt" (as my mom likes to imitate from a funny commercial that came out last year)

here's to 4 more days...

DC Gem of the Week - Sankofa Cafe

nestled up past Howard University on the leftside of Georgia Ave NW, is a favorite escape for me...thank you Cameron for the day you stumbled across it! Sankofa Cafe (and bookstore) has fed not only my pallette with its delicious paninis and just right lattes, but also my soul with its cultural diversity, celebration of the theatrical and appreciation for documentary film. Tensai, the man behind the counter, is the real gem of this establishment. He looks at you and talks to you in a way that lets you know that he is fully present in that moment - a rarity in this town for sure. I love the name Sankofa which conveys..."we must go back and reclaim our past so we can move forward; so we understand why and how we came to be who we are today".

We're regulars there...and that actually means something to me now.

...to collect...

i like collections of things -- this is no secret -- but my favorite "new" things to collect, are pieces of artwork created by friends and family-- there is something about viewing the work of those closer to me that i find somewhat invigorating and contagious -- perhaps they call that inspiration and perhaps each time i receive a new piece, i gain also a living, breathing muse that holds me accountable to my own creativity and expression...


[ enter friend Jenny - a delightful and soulful human being, a natural comedienne, and a lively artist. I have added some Jenny originals to my "collection" this week...and feel more alive because of it and because of her.]

...eye(I) witnessed...

i have often wondered what a visual and sensory representation of true community would look and feel like if I could create it, capture it, assemble it, build it...and up until this week, i still had no idea and struggled to express it, especially in words...and then wednesday happened. and i'm not quite sure what makes wednesday so unique except that my eye(I) witnessed the collaborative, transforming, supportive, creative and life affirming power of community, all in one night. if i was aerial at the time, it may have resembled the rhythmic, beautiful collective of an ant colony (i mean no disrespect). i stood back and watched as artists, musicians, bakers, conversationalists, influencers, missionaries, politicians, justice advocates, supporters, writers, film makers, photographers, technical wizards, friends and strangers and random other personalities converged on one small space, at the corner of 2nd and F Street.

eye(I) witnessed the transformation of a coffeehouse basement into a haven for song and color; eye(I) witnessed one person's vision and heart for a cause, coming to fruition; eye(I) witnessed a small group of people seemingly only connected by the book they once studied together, join and lift their hands in service together; eye(I) witnessed closet creatives adorning themselves with courage and sharing their inspiration; eye(I) witnessed togetherness, solidarity clothed in diversity, and a community i perhaps could not seen before...and will not see or feel exactly ever again...hhmmmmm.

pen + paper...no scratch that...keyboard + blank document...wow this is weird

once upon a time I dabbled into the idea of blogging...and would post here and there...and then I realized that I didn't really have a unique voice and was writing for all the wrong reasons...so I stopped...and that was well over 2 years ago.

so here we are...and here I am...wondering if this time around will be any different. Wondering if I will ever get used to "this", in addition to not instead of, the romance that exists between pen and paper. Wondering if it will ever cease to feel like "work" whenever I sit down to type...and wondering if anything I say on here even matters to anyone else but me.

I don't know what this will become...and that is exciting and a bit intimidating all in the same breath. The sun is shining and I am writing again...so I guess that can't really be a bad thing...we'll see.