Natural Hair Surprise

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“Uh oh” is sometimes the first sound I make after I shampoo my hair and massage a cabinet full of products through it.   Why a cabinet full?  Well, some- times after I step out of the shower and lightly pat my hair dry, I can tell it’s going to be an interesting hair day.   Most days, I just shampoo and condition it with Miss Jessie’s shampoo and conditioner and massage Miss Jessie’s Pillow Soft Curls through it.  Then there are other days, when my head resembles a field of wild flowers that a bunch of deer trampled through.  Really. Sometimes I don’t even try to style it, but if I want a certain look, I gel the edges and mousse it up until it looks like I may have had some type of style in mind.

I have been natural for about 8 years now. Natural hair grows faster than weeping willow trees. It used to take me about 3 hours to twist it, so October 2012, Kondor (my hair designer) cut it for me.  Yes, when I want a hair design…I go to Kondor, other than that, I do it myself. He colors it and keeps it healthy.  He is absolutely amazing, and if you are into weaves and wigs and all those other hair accessories, he is the man!  I, personally, can’t get into all that. I can’t wear someone else’s hair on my head. It drives me insane.  Yes, I tried it before.  When I was transitioning from relaxed to natural hair, I got a sewn in weave.  Oh my goodness, I don’t know how women do it!  I was sweating and stressing all night long.  I told my husband, “This hair must have belonged to some voodoo princess! It is tripping me out!”  He laughed, but I was serious. I had my daughter cut it out the next day. It was awful.  The stylist who put it in did a terrible job.  She really should have advertised that she did sewn in knots instead of sewn in weaves.  After that ordeal,  I just had all of my relaxed hair cut off.  I had an inch of hair left on my head, and man was I shocked when I looked in the mirror at the hair salon. There was a boy looking back at me!  Oh, and my head was flat in the back!  Who knew?

I started wearing larger earrings and make-up.  I wore coils until it got long enough for twists, and then I discovered color!  Kondor convinced me to add a few highlights after I told him that I was “conservative.”  I am really not conservative at all, but I figured if I told him that, he wouldn’t get too crazy with it. Mind you, I am a dancer and a poet, so he probably figured I wasn’t too conservative.  When he finished, he said, “Your skin is popping!”  I didn’t know what he meant.  I thought I had broke out in some pimples or something.  He quickly explained when he saw my expression.  Now, I am a  color junkie who looks forward to her skin “popping.” Kondor is great.  I love his energy!  Oh, and I just remembered, he did make a wig for me a few months ago, so I do have a hair accessory.  It is quite an attention “getter” too.  To wear that skittles colored wig, you better be famous or walk like you’re famous, so when I wear it, I just strut.

 

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My friend, Mel Kel

She is always sharp!  I think she sleeps in fly outfits.

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My younger sister.  She inspired me to go natural.

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Tanya, Ms. Inspiration!

I have since convinced quite a few of my friends to go natural, and they are absolutely gorgeous!  I am not just saying that because they are my friends.  They have discovered that they are beautiful with locks, twists, afros etc…

Please check out my supportive friend’s blog:  http://lexawrites.com/2012/12/30/matural-hair-journey/ She discusses her natural hair journey, too.

Always there for me…Crystal

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Writing on the Deck

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Writing on the Deck at 55 Mountain Fern Drive

 By Shawn R. Jones

 

The small orange sliding board

has been sitting there

fifteen years.

I still see my daughter

walk up its blue ladder

in her purple coat and

pink, and lavender hat.

She is about four.

 

I look over at the

rusted snowmobile.

My son lifts its gray cover

and reaches his small hand inside.

A swarm of wasps whiz

from under its shiny red hood.

My son yells and joins them in flight.

Black framed glasses fly.

His sister cries for him.

 

I stare at the four-wheeler,

wrapped in worn tarp.

Debris from each season

lines its blue wrinkles.

My son walks up the red stoned driveway,

helmet in hand and head down.

He ran the quad into a tree,

showing off for a couple boys his age.

He is ashamed.

 

My eyes avert to the rock pit.

Yellow and blue flames

move like Hula dancers at dusk

as marshmallows crust over

bent twigs, like singed

pussy willows.

Charred goo sticks to our lips.

Brown faces glow with delight.

Snakes slither

from the pit of warm rocks.

 

But we do not worry.

We are not afraid.

The night is too perfect.

 

I stop writing and

walk back in the house.

It is quiet.

Our children are grown.

My husband and I

come up alone now.

 

We browse antique shops and

examine zithers, Roseville pottery,

vintage watches, and signed photos

of living and deceased stars.

We dine at Piggy’s

and enjoy foods

our grown children tell us

we should not eat.

 

We walk by the lake

and take pictures.

Butterflies are shy and

fireflies pose in midair

as black bears

fumble through trashcans

on the side of a wooded road.

 

In winter, we play cards by the fire

and swap secrets like candy

as snow piles up outside for hours.

 

But we do not worry.

We do not regret.

The night is still perfect.

My Readers, Thank You!

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PIGF cover

To everyone who purchased my devotional, Pictures in Glass Frames, at one of my book signings, I would like to say thank you so much! As you know, the proceeds go to Miracles Global, Inc. Last week, two students at Leap Academy in Camden received the Miracles Global Merit Scholarship. The proceeds from books purchased from my website https://shawnrjones.com/books are also going to Miracles Global, Inc. Thank you for blessing others as God blesses you ♥

Pictures in Glass Frames is also available at  http://t.co/BxiNwWRG  and www.amazon.com. It is also available on the Nook, kindle, and itunes.

An except from Pictures in Glass Frames:  “I looked over at a group of boys selling drugs on the corner, and at that moment, I understood the
tremendous struggle within every drug addict, alcoholic, and crazy person I had ever seen in my life. I even thought of pulling my car over to the curb where the boys stood and buying something—anything—to make me feel better.”

Dear Readers, Thank You!

To everyone who purchased my devotional, Pictures in Glass Frames, at one of my book signings, I would like to say thank you so much! As you know, the proceeds went to Miracles Global, Inc.

 

Last week, two students at Leap Academy in Camden received the Miracles Global Merit Scholarship. The proceeds from books purchased from my website https://shawnrjones.com/books are also going to Miracles Global, Inc. Thank you for blessing others as God blesses you ♥

                                                                                                                                                                                       

Poem

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Poem

My friend James framed this for me. Thank you so much, James L Lanham Jr.  It is from the following haiku I wrote some years ago:

 

We spill happiness,

watch it like a waterfall,

and clog new worries.

The Stay Focused Magazine Writers Retreat

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The first weekend in May was the 1st Annual Writers’ Retreat hosted by Stay Focused Magazine.  We were blessed by one workshop after the next.  Besides being well-informed about the craft and business of writing, we had an amazing time.  We talked and laughed like we had been friends for decades, and many of us had just met for the first time.

Our keynote speaker was National Bestselling Author,Vanessa Davis Griggs. We laughed and took notes during her speech, and by the time she was finished, some of us were wiping tears.  I am thrilled to have a couple signed copies of her books.  If you would like more information on her, please visit her website: http://www.vanessadavisgriggs.com/.

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Vanessa Davis Griggs

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Deanna Davis, CEO and Editor of Stay Focused Magazine

http://focusedplans.net/web/index.html

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Teaching my workshop, Poetry & Prose Electric

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Workshop Facilitators: Terrence Clark, CEO and Founder at Glory Cloud Publications (http://www.theglorycloudpublications.org/), Shawn R. Jones(https://shawnrjones.com), Vanessa Davis Griggs (http://www.vanessadavisgriggs.com/),  Deanna Davis (http://focusedplans.net/web/index.html), Deborah Wilson Smart (https://www.facebook.com/OneSmartLadyProductions), Poet Rachel Marrianno (https://www.facebook.com/rachel.marianno?fref=ts), and Not photographed, Rhonda Ferbee-Hammond (http://www.isimplyloveher.com/).

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Thank you so much to everyone who attended the retreat!  Remember, no more cliches ; )

Fro more photos, visit:  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.484319014968023.1073741828.220861371313790&type=1

I Am Responsible for Their Happiness

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The past five days, I watched my adorable two-year-old nephew.  I rolled cars and trains across the floor, danced to cartoon theme songs, repeatedly built a Lego tower just so he could knock it back down, chased him around in circles as he pushed a pamper box through each room on the first floor of my home, read “Marvin K. Mooney Would you Please Go Now” twenty times, sang him to sleep, and smiled him awake.  

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Even though taking care of him was no simple task.  It was a beautiful way to spend five days. I didn’t concern myself with what I had to do next because I knew the 5 days were his. And believe me, they were all his.  My sister told me I am very “accommodating” when it comes to him, and she is absolutely correct.  I was very accommodating with own kids and I am also accommodating with my dance students and students I tutor.  I took a moment to think about why I am this way.

For one, it was the way my mother was with me when I was a child.  Two, I want children to know that they matter and they have some choices they can make on their own. I have no idea what kind of adulthood these children are going to have. The world can be unpredictable and scary.  I want them to have beautiful memories to reflect back on. People used to always tell me that I spoiled my children, and I used to say, well, I want them to have the best childhood I can give them.  I won’t have much control over their future.  So, while they are in my home and while I am responsible for their lives, I take full responsibility for their happiness.  I feel the same way about my dance students.  Even though they are with me an hour a week, in that short span of time, I am the adult and I am responsible for not only their safety, but also their happiness.  I think all adults should feel this way when they are in the company of children. It would certainly empower the next generation.

Here is a photo of my nephew.  My sister took this picture today.  They were hanging out, enjoying a rainy day : )

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