Motivating Monday (on Saturday): June 19, 2021

Thank You!

Welcome and welcome back! It's another amazing day in paradise. Thank you so much for being here!

The month of April brought some unexpected storms in the journey my son, Wisdom, and I have been taking through the perils of poverty. But there were  many seeds planted that brought May flowers. Those flowers appeared in the form of many gold hearted people. 

It is important to me to acknowledge as many people as I can, even if I neglected to or didn't get a chance to learn their names. I also need to regard those who have been a regular part of our journey whose presence was magnified in one way or another. 

It is important for me to first acknowledge some members of my family who always show up at unexpected times to help, more often than not, without me asking. Thanks to my mom, my #1 sister and my oldest nephew (her son).

I also want to say an extra special thank you to Ms. Nancy. She has hosted a weekly story time with Wisdom for over a year now. It has been a constant in our lives despite the instability we have both been through. Even in the midst of undergoing cancer treatments she still came through. And when she wasn't available, her husband read to us.

Along with her consistency, we could also depend on the kindness and generosity of the friends we had cultivated back in Vernon, CT before we ever came back to North Carolina. Ms. Joan, from the ECHN Family Resource Center at Maple Street School, and Ms. Allison, from the Vernon Family, School and Community Partnership, have been among Wisdom's first educators and his very first virtual educators. They hosted two playgroups per week online through Zoom for children ages birth to 5 and their parents. 

Wisdom started with them when they were in person back in Connecticut from the time he was 2. Before COVID, we had no connection to any programs except for when we could make it to the library for story time. When COVID hit and the invitation came to participate, I jumped on it. It has been over a year of learning and mailed packages of playgroup materials and bonds created online. 

Ms. Kristin is one of many people who crossed our paths as we sold our buttons on the side of the road. She's kinda super extra special because she introduced us to MOD Pizza on the day we met. We exchanged phone numbers. She even helped on two other occasions, one of them is when we moved from the hotel we were in. 

She recently she moved back to the Midwest. I had no idea she was leaving until she asked to visit us and came to say goodbye. I feel bad that I did not know she was planning on moving. I'm grateful she let me know though. I've reached out since then and I will do better to keep in contact. 

Brother Y.O.! I'm going to call him that because he has such a unique name I don't dare reveal it. I'm simply grateful for him. He is another person we met selling our buttons. He has checked on us to see how we are and has come to our assistance in ways that are truly unique. I guess his unique name is a representation of his unique character. I appreciate his generous heart. 

Pastor Chris Furr of Covenant Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Now if you want to learn how to be genuinely Loving, compassionate and merciful this man will show you. Wisdom and I have known Pastor Chris for over a year now. He has gotten us out of a lot of situations when I had no one else to reach out to. Many of them were at the last minute. 

Despite all he has done for us over the last year and a half, I know the thing I appreciate the most about him is he never ever told me about the church he is pastor of unless I asked him a direct question. I have to say that 95% of everything I know about the religion came from other people. That is almost insane to me. But it's true. 

I have such a great Love and appreciation for this man and his family. I'm grateful for his wife, who has to be amazing, in order for him to serve his church and others the way he does. 

My Mastermind Family. I will end up in tears if I say much so I will simply ask a favor. Please support Operation Laptop if you can. The Motivation Reader's Mastermind Network has a goal to collect $10,000 to gift iPads to the Catherine and Count Basie Middle School. I believe they have purchased 9 thus far. You can go here to support for as little as $5. This will help change the future for children in a Title 1 School. 

APATT Family: Ms. Maggie, Ms. Ali, Ms. Emily, Mr. Ernest, Ms. Adria and numerous volunteers. A Place At the Table is a pay as you can restaurant. During some of the hardest months of our journey, Wisdom and I were living in a storage unit about a 10 minute walk from them. 

With very little funds, we would each get the one free meal they offered every day they were open (5 days a week at that time, 8 a-1 p). It was more than enough to sustain us along with any other meals we could scrounge up. They were not allowed to open for dine in service so we took our food and often ate at the park in the cold or back in the storage unit. 

This didn't even bother me because every time we went there, it was like we were missed when they didn't see us. Wisdom Loves going there because he knows he has friends there. And he is always so spoiled with an extra treat or two in our bag of food. If there is one organization that is magnifying the idea of "bringing dignity to poverty" they are it. They are greatly appreciated for doing it too. Believe me when I tell you, they are doing it very well. The food is excellent too! Please consider a gift of financial support or purchase their meal tokens to gift to others in need. 

And now I want to say thank you to everyone else!

★ Thank you to all of those whose names I forgot to ask.

★ Thank you to all the people on bikes who gifted funds or purchased a button.

★ Thank you to all those who parked their cars and got out to talk to us. 

★ Thank you to all those who shared a kind word.

★ Thank you to the Black youth who ran across the intersection to gift us funds.

★ Thank you to all those who honked and/or waved back when we were waving.

Thank you to: 

★ Claudia
★ Joy, her husband and son
★ Kira and Jenna
★ Sean
★ The man who left us with a department store gift card from a return he had made, it had over $125 on it
★ Mama Maria: she gave us rides; took us to a lake to eat a picnic dinner by the water; she made us a full on pan of lasagna with salad, garlic bread and fresh juice then gave us the leftovers

★ Thank you to the Kindergarten teacher, her husband and son we met when we were eating by the lake; her husband and son showed Wisdom how to fish and let him try to toss the line
★ Iliana: a young lady working at a grocery store who was so taken with Wisdom she asked to buy him a candy bar but ended up buying him five because he is five, of course!

I am grateful for all those who came and went in passing, I hope we'll be able to thank you more properly for all you did for us. Words escape me to explain the depth of appreciation I have for you. It is hard for me to go out and sell. It is not one of my gifts. So every person who has crossed our path, stopped and asked about our story and gave from their hearts means the world to me. 

And for all those who passed and didn't or couldn't or wouldn't give, it gives me motivation to help others rise to their full capacity as a human so they don't have to see another person holding a sign. I'm excited by what the future has in store for Wisdom and I. The best truly is yet to come in 2021. Step by step, little by little we're receiving it. 

I am thankful to the Creator, my Heavenly Father, for all our experiences. Thank you for being here and learning more. Enjoy creating your amazing day. Peace...