Memo

48hrs AND COUNTING
My heart got the memo. Today isn’t as bad. The movers are here for the third day in a row. The first two days they were just packing and today they’re actually taking all of my worldly possessions away, leaving around 2,400 square feet of empty space. We’re hanging in the downstairs guestroom because it’ll be the last to go. Marcus brought donuts in because our kitchenware is, you got it, packed. He also brought good news. My mom and dad, who have been tossing around the idea of coming back to tell us goodbye one last time, will be here today. Now I can make up for ignoring them the other day.

Spongebob

96 hrs AND COUNTING
Guess what mom? Spongebob is moving to Japan!

Charlie met Spongebob Squarepants today. A few months ago my Father-in-law, aka “Grandpa” accompanied me and the girls to Joe’s Crab Shack for lunch. As we were walking up, after getting pooped on by a rogue pigeon (a story I’m sure I’ll tell in another post), Charlie exclaimed, Mom, the Krusty Krab!! For those not in the know, the Krusty Krab is where Spongebob works and makes the famous Krabby Patty. The server explained that Spongebob was too busy to come out and meet Charlie that day but he made two Krabby Patties especially for her. Charlie, who always leaves most of her meal on her plate, ate every bite and all was good in the world. But today all is GREAT in the world because, thanks to Grandpa tracking down some actor w/ a Spongebob costume, Spongebob wasn’t too busy to come out and see Charlie. He hung out with Charlie, and her best friend Natalie from next door, for an hour. He painted their faces, made them balloon animals and gave Charlie the best news ever… He’s moving to Japan. Apparently Spongebob has an uncle whose sick and needs him. So while I was here all day with the movers, Charlie got the best news that a little girl moving away from her best friend and cousins could get, that another friend will be moving to Japan with her.

Extended Vacation

5 DAYS AND COUNTING
So I've been trying not to freak out regarding our impending journey. Over the past month I've gotten tons of optimistic comments and advice, solicited and unsolicited- You'll have so much fun!!... oh and it'll be so good for the girls...- And while I appreciate the positivity and know the proper thing to say to me when you can clearly see my uneasiness probably isn't “THAT SUCKS!”, that’s how I feel. But there has been one thing, one comment that has calmed me down. I think my mom said it to me about a month ago… Just think of it as an extended vacation… and that’s worked. It’s worked because it has nothing to do w/ the logical reasons why I should be excited. It simply tricks me into thinking of it as something else. Cause logically I’m there. My mind knows that it’ll be a great experience, I mean how many people get to experience a different culture and really see how other people live in their lifetimes. My mind knows it’ll be great for the girls. My mind knows how cool it’ll be to speak Japanese, particularly for a black girl from the hood. My mind knows I’ll look back on my life and appreciate this… But my heart is a little less insightful. My heart is spending it’s time reminding me of how much I’ll miss seeing my friends and family. It’s telling me that my nieces that love me will miss me and be okay while I’m gone, but the ones that love me and need me may not be so okay. It’s telling me that my new baby nephew won’t know me from a can of paint and certainly won’t like me as much when he sees me again. It’s telling me that my friends will move forward with their lives and I’ll no longer be in the loop… they’ll still love me of course but I won’t be called when they’re sad or need advice and overall I just won’t be as important to them. Obviously my heart didn’t get the memo about what is and isn’t the proper thing to say to me right now. So there you have it. I’m freaking. So much so that the very people that I’m afraid of missing so much are here and I’m walking around in a bubble, completely ignoring them like they don’t exist… sorry about that mom, and dad, and Bri.

It's official!

I'm a blogger. I'm not really sure if that's a cool thing. It's mainstream. My ex co-workers and friends from college blog. Young professionals and CEOs blog. It's mainstream, but cool... I'm not sure. Will my friends that I grew up with in Compton and Inglewood, my friends that aren't exactly young professionals but are CEOs of one thing or another, my friends that really define what's cool (at least for me), will they greet me What up my blogga! When talking about me will they say Nikkie, that's my blogga right there! Probably not... but I've already told everyone I know about this blog so either way there's no turning back.
So what makes a good blog? Is it traffic, comments, the fufillment one gets from writing it? I don't know and don't care. I just know that I want to feel like I'm not so far away. So subscribe to my blog so I know I'm actually talking to someone out there and comment a lot. Oh and you guys know I love compliments so do that too... tell me how great the girls look, tell me my jokes are funny, pretty much shower me with love and affection, and tell your friends to do the same ;). I'm kidding, kind of.

So, here we go.
Enjoy!