I remember one morning in a meeting, Daniel asked us to list all of our accomplishments.
 Accomplish - to do and complete.
I began chronologically by listing my earliest accomplishments, but when I got past high school, very few things that I began did I ever see through to completion. I was taken aback. Wow! All I could say that I had accomplished in my adult life was carrying and delivering my babies. All of them had been born healthy and out of harm's way. But thank GOD that even though my l...

While going through the Stairs program, which is a fabulous parolee program that I can honestly say has given me the required tools to change my mind and rebuild my life. It was there that I was enabled to correct the wreckage of my past, start over again and reestablish a foundation that is solid, sturdy and has proven to be built to last. In the mandatory meetings I was asked questions, that I was left to ponder and which evoked alot of self exploration and discovery. This inner soul search...

When I started getting my life back together I had a lot of past wreckage to repair. At first, I thought my largest challenge would be to reunite with my family, but I soon came to realize that my largest challenge was reuniting with myself. It was first an inside job. I had so much work to do on and with myself. It started with changing my mind, which isn't as easy as it sounds. It's a process. You know you want to, but how? My whole adult life had been a wreck, where exactly was I to start....

I remember it as if it were yesterday. There was a knock at the door, as I opened it, it was to GOD's greatest surprise. It was a Fedex messenger with a certified letter for Angelle Smith. I quickly tore into the envelope to find a letter from California Department of Family Services (defects, as the kids call it). What could this possibly be? There must be a mistake, I don't have any children in the system anymore. i had lost custody and parental rights years before. The last one had been Le...

I remember when Blaize and I first reunited - WOW - Did I ever need someone to talk to. I talked to my mother, but her 'reality' was completely different from mine. She had always been there for me. Eventhough through therapy I had learned that due to my being adopted, I had separation anxiety. Consciously my mom was my mom and was always there for me and always would be there for me, but subconsciously this wasn't the person that i had begun this journey with from conception, and somewhere i...

Family isn't always about getting along, seeing eye to eye, or saying what the other wants to hear, but it is about sticking it out and being there for each other with desired love and mutual respect. I speak these words from a precarious place within,' because I'm at a junction. The Spirit within me won't allow anymore disregard and blatant disrespect. But how, despite or shall I say indirectly because of disrespect do I respond when someone needs me. I've made up my mind to draw the line. E...

I wish I could tell you that everything in our family is healed, healthy,and whole, but that would not be the truth. We're dysfunctional, have yet learned in many instances how to effectively communicate or love each other and there are many days that I question my prayers. As much as I wanted to reunite w/ my children, it wasn't at the expense of myself or my respect. It took me a minute to pull myself up and dust myself off, but I will not allow anyone or anything to separate me from the lo...

Establishing tradition is a part of black culture. I know many families who do many different things. Christmas breakfasts, summer vacations, xmas eve unwrap, Valentine balloons. The traditions vary as does each family, but one of the things all of our traditions encompass is Food!
So as I began reuniting my family  I wanted us to establish some type of tradition where we could all get together and celebrate all of the blessings that God has bestowed upon us... on a regular basis. So naturally...

I remember a time when I used to pray for tears, just to let me know that my heart was still pumping, that I was still feeling and that I was alive. I was very emotional. It didn't take much to get me emotionally charged, but tears and fears don't quite go w/ street life. You must grow a tough skin and suck it up. Any sign of frailty will get you chewed up and spit out. I prayed out loud, not caring who heard me, but my tears were done in my quiet sacred place. Inside.
It was because of this t...

It takes a village to raise a child.  It's an old African proverb, which my life has proven to me to be the truth.  As a child, my mother had a community of friends, who were always there not only for her, but were definitely instrumental in raising me to be the woman that I am.  As I became an adult, again my growth has been contingent upon the "village" around me as well.  With prayer, ALL the wonderful people, whether or not I thought of them at the time as wonderful will be lifted up as I...

From the first day that I arrived on the scene I was greeted by the Village. I was loved by more aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers than blood could account for. I was embraced with pure love. I was in my family.

Family is not defined by biology, marriage, or even a home. Family is the people you love and who love you back. The people you feel safe around and those you can count on. 

Family isn't always blood. It is the people in your life who want you in theirs. The ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile and who love you no matter what. Being genetically related doesn't make you family. Love, support, trust, sacrifice, honesty, protection, acceptance, secu...

I am so glad that before my mother passed away, I learned how to be a good daughter. I can honestly sleep at night knowing that she knew she had done her job and done it well. I'm sure for many years she doubted and questioned herself, but by the time she left this earth all of those doubts and questions had been dispelled and answered. This is truly one of my greatest joys. I remember while on the street, one of my constant prayers was to please allow my mother to live long enough to see me ...

 If you were born in Chicago after 1943 and placed for adoption, the chances of you getting your original birth certificate were slim to none.

In 2011 this law was changed. It was at this time, that I found out I was a white woman. I was raised with the understanding that I was biracial, but when the law was passed in 2011 to release all original birth certificates I learned my new truth. Both parents Caucasian. Was this why I was placed for adoption? I have been a biracial/black woman my enti...