Wordless Wednesday-September 19, 2018

In Diva Love,

Pamela 💜🙏🏽👑

Summer Roundup

As summer draws to a close, I have been remiss in writing my blog. Way too much fun to take the time and get it all out. So here’s a brief review of how I’ve spent what several of my friends are calling #theyearof50. After returning from Nawlins, I caught up with my friends, Van and Terry. No laughs spared with those two. This time we got to celebrate Van who got a new job. Next up was a celebration of my oldest BFF, Monica and her Golden birthday. What a great reason for the college BFF, Sonja and me to make a road trip to the place that built me. Hello, Cleveland! Guess who we got to hang out with there? My brother, Gerald. We saw lots of my family and friends and ate way too much but boy did we have a wonderful time. 

Monica planned a weekend long celebration with her very closest girlfriends and called it Monica 5.0. Talk about a fun time. Seven women embarked on downtown Cleveland, OH and had a blast. On Friday, we were supposed to do a Happy Hour boat ride but we enjoyed each other so much that wearrived at the pier and the boat had already departed. Not to be thwarted, we made arrangements to get on the boat on Saturday and came up with a new plan. The drinks and conversation flowed effortlessly despite the fact that some of us had never met each other. We ended up doing a small photo shoot in downtown Cleveland and eventually made our way to Michaels Simon’s restaurant, Mabel’s BBQ. Let’s just characterize that as a meat fest. Then we made our way to the chocolate bar for late night drinks. To say I felt like a stuffed pig would be an understatement.

On Saturday, it was a bit dreary so we took our time motivating. Once we got it together, we did another mini photo shoot and headed to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Can you believe that this native Clevelander hadn’t ever set foot in that place? What a gem! It was a great experience because I absolutely can’t live without music. There is much to experience and learn about the history of Rock and Roll. I think the layout is pretty nice and I didn’t feel like there was a need to rush through any area of the museaum. While I think there might be way too much information on Elvis, I learned a lot and was impressed with the artifacts on display throughout the museum. I loved the Evolution of Hip-Hop and silly me got a great picture with my favorite artist, the Purple one, Prince. Once done, we got ourselves together to take the boat ride. We did not miss the Goodtime III this time. A dance party was the theme and the people watching was epic. It was a gorgeous night to see Cleveland’s skyline from Lake Erie. Sunday culminated with one more group photo and a lovely brunch where a few more folks joined us and brought Monica’s 5.0 to an end. 

After hanging our with more of my family, Sonja and I made it back to the DMV safe and sound. My July culminated in celebrating my niece, Jayla’s  6th birthday. That stinker is growing up way to fast. After an impromptu dinner, she choraled us into a dance party and and game night. On a sad note, we bid her and the rest of my sister’s family goodbye as they relocated to Rochester, NY. My month ended with a bowling fundraiser for PAGE, Inc. That is a non-profit, started by my friend Telia, to help teens succeed in every area of life. August brought me back to reality. Work was calling and we had to be ready for a new group of students. We bid good bye to one of the Village children and headed to Baltimore for those farewell festivities. It was a great opportunity for us to catch up with our friends who are like family and some people with whom we used to attend church. Sonja and I once again to a quick road trip to NC to drop off my godchild for her last year of college at NCAT. 

I got to visit with my brother once again and even got to see him perform two pieces in a spoken word event. My own Thorpettes also embarked on their own journies as seniors in their respective schools. My older one will graduate in May from  JWU and the younger one is completing his last year of high school. Time flies. Next year this time, I will be an empty nester. What a bittersweet, but sobering thought.  So sobering that I ended my summer with a trip to a winery I hadn’t visited before. This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to attend a performance of Hamilton at the Kennedy Center. It was worth the hype! I loved the diversity of the cast and found the production quite entertaining. If only I could’ve learned history this way. 

I am ready for Fall. It’s been a full summer and I have enjoyed every moment of it. God is good and I feel blessed to have spent most of my time with the people I love and care about the most. Count your blessings and remember, life is about experiences and the people you encounter along the way. The year of 50 is shaping up just fine. Again, I am here for it all. I apologize for the length of this post and I will try to be more diligent about posting. In the meantime, get busy living because life is precious and it waits for no man (or woman). 

   

                      

In Diva Love, 

Pamela 👑💜🙏🏽