Saturday Sunshine!

Well, it's Saturday and beautiful out. I haven't decided what I want to do yet, but I know I don't want to stay in the house. Even though it's July, it feels like the summer hasn't really begun. I don't know why. Maybe it's because we've had so much rain lately here in New York. To be honest, that doesn't really bother me. I love the rain. Well, I didn't love it a couple days ago when my son and I got caught in a crazy downpour.

The rain started pouring and we had a safe spot inside a phone booth. My son wanted to stay there and wait it out, but I said we should run for the bus. I had an umbrella, so I figured we would be okay. Boy was I wrong! The rain and wind destroyed my umbrella and we both got soaked. I'm a black woman, so all I could think about was my hair. No it's not a myth, black women really do not like getting their hair wet. All I could think about on the bus ride home was what I was going to do to my hair. I was pissed! I looked at my son and we both had a good laugh. That made me feel a little better.

Rain makes me think of tears. Tears make me think of something that happened to me the other day. I was watching a tv show that had a sad ending that made me cry. Once I started crying, I couldn't stop. I have no idea why I was crying, but it felt kind of good. Maybe I was getting rid of something I didn't know was there. It just felt like something I needed to do. Crying is good for the soul. Holding things in only leads to stress. Believe me, I know.

I hate when people say men shouldn't cry, that it's a sign of weakness. I think it's a sign of strength. A real man is not afraid to show his emotions. It's the weak dude that acts like he's a macho man all the time. He's trying to cover up something. He doesn't want people know that he is vulnerable or scared. There's nothing wrong with letting your guard down from time to time. No one wants to be around someone who acts like Mr. Macho all the time.

We need to raise our sons to know that it's okay to express their emotions from time to time so they won't be walking around so angry. They have enough to deal with in the outside world. I try to be a safe place my son knows he can come to. He may not always want to talk to mom about things, but he knows that he can. I'll talk to him about anything. There's too much going on out there for parents to be too scared or ashamed to talk to their kids. I was pregnant at 16 and, although I feel like I was a successful parent, that's not the life I wanted for my children.

I remember my daughter asked me about how babies were born. She had to be around 10 or 11. I work in a medical library. I took her down to the media center and showed her a child birth video. I'm sure she remembers that. (haha) When she asked me about sex, I told her exactly what it was and how it was done. She knew she had a vagina and boys had a penis and my son knew the reverse, no nicknames. I hate when people tell their daughters they have a cat and come up for some stupid name for their little boys penis. Please! Tell them the truth.

Anyway, back to the rain. One day I want to go to Central Park and run around in the pouring rain. I've always wanted to do that, but i'm a black woman. What about my hair?