EXPRESSING BLACK LOVE
Dedicating this edition of “Living Out Loud” with Moca to…
‘EXPRESSING BLACK LOVE’
Part 1: They Still Together
“Back in the day when I was young, I’m not a kid anymore, but sometimes I sit and wish I was a kid again.”
When that song came out in 1994 all was right with the world. At least ‘my world.’ I can recall family vacations, family reunions, road trips to see my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. ‘Black Love’ at its finest. In the midst of this time I had a conversation with my dad about how he met my mom. The story has stayed with me until this day. Now, since we are, ‘Expressing Black Love,’ let me share with you what I define as ‘Forever Love’ and YES it still exist. (smile)
The year was 1973, the setting was Senior Year at Dothan High School. As my dad tells it, all his friends wanted to talk to my mom but he knew from the moment he laid eyes on her (in middle school) that she was the one he would spend the rest of his life with. And for the remainder of their Senior year, through different colleges that were over 300 miles apart, they stayed together.
Then on September 1, 1978, what my dad saw 10 years earlier came into fruition. They got married and declared ‘til death do us part’ before man and God. And they’re still together 32 years later.
I have been truly blessed to grow up with both my parents, who continue to this day to provide for me what their parents weren’t able to. I’ve learned several life lessons from my parents. The one they didn’t verbally teach is…’Real Love’…this lesson I have viewed and been apart of all my life…’Real Love’…when society is stripped away…’Real Love’…when you see the soul of a person…’Real Love’…when, as my dad once told me, you wake up everyday and completely love all over again…’Real Love.’
As we celebrate a month of love and history, I come from a lineage of love, strength, and unity. I can trace my family back to the plantation and the white man that owned my Great, Great,Great, Great Grandmother. My family has endured as a unit. My dad’s parents, my grandparents, are still together after 60 plus years. While my mom’s parents, my Granny & Pop, have passed, the love and strength they showed through their 50 plus years is what continues to hold our family together. Knowing the roots of your family tree is a wonderful asset in knowing you.
The journey that my family has taken from slavery until today is reflected in me. I am a representative of ‘Black Love’ at its finest.
As I stated earlier…’Forever Love’ does still exist. And because all I know is what I was raised around I will continue to patiently wait on my ‘Forever Love.’ And even if you did not come from a family unit such as mine, ‘Forever Love’ is still very much available for you. My Best Friend, Shannon Broughton, and her world wind love story are evident that it still exists. Read their story in “Expressing Black Love” Part 2: In the Midst of it All
Lesson Learned: “Allowing God to fulfill the desires of your heart.”