I believe that a person can keep growing up until the final breath, if that person desires. That is how I live my life. I’m excited to close out this decade and move into 2020. Unlike like those people who are sharing recycled memes of what they are throwing out at the end of this year…even though it is the same stuff they threw out at the end of 2018, I focus on growing, learning, and accomplishing my goals. My goals and desire have changed as I continued to grow.
For example, when my husband and I married, we decided we were going to purchase a small house, pay it off, and live there the rest of our lives. We put a lot on the principal of this house that was a little under 1,700 square feet, and we fixed it up, too. On Friday, October 11, 2019, we purchased new house that is about 3,700 square feet. I’m still getting used to that. We went from a small two story house to a large ranch with a basement. I call my children’s names in this house, and they don’t even hear my voice! This was the right move for where we are going. We hardly had any storage at our previous house which was a problem. Out of the 12 years we lived at our home, we had a garden for 10 of those years. I had to get creative to store food I canned. We wanted to be sustainable, which meant having a bigger yard and a place like a basement to store our produce. Also, my husband and I work from home a few days a week and us sharing a desk was not working. Now, we have our own space, and we have space to store materials and inventory for our publishing company, Barnes Brothers Books, LLC.
Moving into 2020, my goal is to grow as much as I can. It is important to me to know how my food is grown. In the grocery store, you only have the label to tell you. That doesn’t mean that items won’t get recalled or some horror story is released about the sub par conditions on the farm.
I’m also looking forward to expanding the type of contract work I do and growing our business. If you would have told me I would have my own business, I would have laughed in your face. I’m walking on faith, and I’m already seeing results.
Despite my excitement there are those people who keep trying to inform me of what I should do or how I should do it. Of course, these people were no where around when I was grinding to get to where I am now. It’s little things like how I should write my name when I write. Look y’all I’m black and proud. Black people tend to have multiple names for themselves. It didn’t hurt Dr. Seuss to use multiple pen names, so I’m confident I’ll be fine. It is sure not bothering the people who read or listen to my work.
Or, it’s the naysayers who think trying to be sustainable is crazy. I don’t even share my hope about having chickens with people like that. People make fun of what I eat or how I eat. Then again, I’m not the one with diabetes, high blood pressure, popping a whole bunch of pills to be alive instead of using food as my medicine.
I know who I am, and I know what I desire. I also have an awesome partner walking this journey with me. As you leave this decade behind, stay true to yourself. Don’t let negativity sway your from your path. Keep moving forward.