My son’s birthday is coming up, but please don’t let that distract you from my impending birth celebration.
I’ll be turning 31-years-old this month, and I have to say, 30 was good to me.
It brought me a closer relationship with God, not one, but two new jobs, and a new cell phone. Hallelu! (Not all blessings are ranked equally.)
I’m speaking what I want into existence this next year, and per usual, I’m giving those who really love me an opportunity to help. Mamas, take note.
Here are 6 things to do for my birthday because you can buy my love:
Give me the gift of Ancestry.
My husband has been warning me since before he was my husband that I shouldn’t just turn over my DNA to the government with these find-your-roots services, but I want to throw caution to the wind. I want to know where I truly come from, and I want to be able to pass that knowledge down to my son. So Ancestry.com here I come, again assuming someone loves me enough to sponsor a gift certificate.
Spoil me with the finer things in life.
And by finer things in life, I mean a million of those silver, gold and rose gold Alex and Ani bracelets, and kudos to you if you can afford these amazing black-owned jewelry companies. They’ve got some truly beautiful pieces on Shoppe Black.
Pay my tithes.
I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work like this, but I’m going to go ahead and ask for help on that 10 percent.
I kid. I kid, but I would truly love a donation on my behalf to Target HOPE or the Jackie Robinson Foundation. Both nonprofits have helped me tremendously in not only getting to college but getting through it.
If you’ve ever been the only black girl in your class, you probably know what I mean when I say getting through school. It’s so important to surround yourself with likeminded people who can inspire and uplift you.
That’s what these organizations did for me, so much so, literally all of my besties are Target HOPE alumni.
Give me your old stuff.
No seriously. Anyone who knows me knows I love hand-me-downs. I’ve always responded more to fashion of the yesteryears than to modern trends, so most of my favorite items aren’t actually mine. Dear Nicole, whatever happened to our cream mother-of-the-bride suit? (It’s not uncommon for me to request things for my future self.)
Buy me fancy organic soap.
I’m such a creature of habit and laziness that I just use whatever soap my husband buys, but I do truly want to use cleaner, black-owned products. I’m a shea butter and Vaseline loyalist with regards to moisturizing, but I could be a bit more experimental with soaps and products for 4C hair.
Donate your time.
The absolute best gift you can give me is to help a black child reach his or her full potential. For that reason, Court Appointed Special Advocates will always be near and dear to me.
This is a national association with chapters all over the country that train volunteers to advocate for children in court. You visit their homes, request their grades and otherwise follow up to make sure they are getting every resource available to them.
This program is not for the feign of heart.
You really have to have a heart for kids and the time to truly advocate for them. It’s perfect for a retiree or stay-at-home mom with school-age children.
Not many working parents have the kind of flexibility CASA requires, but if you do, you can actually work in the system to help change it.
