Tag: celebrations

Life

Hello Sunday

Shaun Bradford

Happy 50 years 6 months to me!!! Yes…I am 50 1/2 years old and beyond grateful to see this day. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine living this long. I never dreamt of age 50. As a child, 50 was old and who as a child dreamed of being old? I know I didn’t. If I can remember, most of my dreams were centered around my 20s and early 30s. Now, lo and behold, I am over 50! How awesome is that! Y’all, God is absolutely amazing!

As always, my Facebook memories are sooo timely. This memory from two years ago nicely sums up the last six months of my celebration.

Facebook Memory: December 24, 2021

Here is a quote from Michelle Obama’s “Becoming.” I believe questioning our worth is a natural part of our growth process. Whenever we take on new tasks, or decide to move beyond our comfort zone, part of us wonder, “Am I good enough?” Well, I am here to tell you that you are. You are good enough and you are more than equipped to handle whatever comes your way. You got this!

Yes, I am enough. I am continuously evolving and becoming the woman God created me to be.♥️

Over the past six months, I have had some very interesting experiences. Experiences that had me questioning God’s intentions. Had me asking more questions than I have ever asked Him before to include am I equipped to handle situations. And y’all, I have encountered some really interesting situations since turning 50. Listen, when I asked for this side of 50 to be completely different from the last, I had no idea what I was asking for (laughing), but God did. Shaking my head. My life and its adventures…

As I wrote two years ago—which I now know was a message for my future self—I am good enough. I am more than equipped to handle whatever comes my way. I’ve got this!

As I write, I cannot help but smile and praise God because I am truly blessed. Y’all, I am 50 1/2 years old and still here and healthy and loved. My babies are well and flourishing. My siblings and their families are all healthy and happy. My friends and family are still here. What more could I ask for. Again, I am so very blessed.

I have six more months left in my jubilee year. I do not know what’s to come; however, I do know that whatever comes God is good and I am covered. Y’all, God’s covering is everything. And His peace!!! Listen, there is none like it. You better get you some!

I pray you have a beautifully, blessed Sunday. Love you, always.♥️

Shaun

Life

Feeling Rejuvenated

Shaun Bradford

Feeling rejuvenated!

Today is the final day of my birthday month, but not the final day of celebrations. Y’all, I am celebrating ALL YEAR LONG, then for 50 more years or so. Listen, I am celebrating LIFE! I’m so grateful to still be here and HEALTHY. God is so good!♥️ ~Shaun

Join the celebration! I promise you your soul will thank you.

Present and at peace…

Life

Happy Birthday Mr. Sutton!

Shaun Bradford

Today is my daddy’s birthday!

Yes, I’m a daddy’s girl!

Although I cannot be with him today, I can’t wait to call him. Y’all, I love my daddy!

Several blogs ago, I touched on relationships between Black fathers in their children’s lives. In that specific blog I was referring to an episode of Tyler Perry’s House of Payne. The characters, Miranda and Calvin, were discussing Calvin’s relationship with their son Christian. Miranda had found a job opportunity about 800 miles away. Calvin did not want her to take it because he wouldn’t get to see Christian as often. Well, I didn’t see a problem with it because for most of my childhood I lived over 800 miles away from my dad.

With that said, there were times I wondered what it would feel like to live with him. Well, I kinda got my wish when I stayed with my great great grandmother during my 4th and 5th grade years of school. I finally got to see him almost daily. Sadly, whenever I did stay at his house, I barely spent time with him and neither did my siblings who actually lived with him. Y’all, my dad is a workaholic! To this day, he still works seven days a week. He wakes up and goes to bed thinking about work. Several years ago, he suffered two strokes which slowed him down, but he never stopped working. Honestly, I believe working keeps him alive.

I really do wish I could spend time with him today. Might drop in on him this weekend. Over the years I have learned to cherish the few hours I have with him at home or go to work with him. I think I might just go to work with him since he is the one being celebrated. Y’all should see his smiles whenever I decide to hang out with him at work. He just be cheesing. Yeah… I think that’s what I’ll do.

Hope y’all have a wonderful Wednesday!

Be Blessed♥️

Shaun

Life

Perseverance: Today is Day 500

Shaun Bradford

Perseverance– steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. Persevere.♥️

Celebrating 500 consecutive days of blogging. And just think, at one point I didn’t believe I could make it past 50. God is so good. Doing what I’m meant to do. Doing what I love! AND I’m still drawing. Again, God is so good. Blessed

Life

Wednesday Writings

Shaun Bradford

Hello June! Oh how I’ve missed you.

Y’all, it’s my birthday month and the final year of my 40s. All I can say is, WHAT A RIDE! Y’all, if my 40s were a movie, it would win Oscars in multiple categories. Like.. for real! Talk about one wonderfully, crazy decade! If someone would have told me my 40s were going to be wild, I would’ve laughed my head off – “Quit playing!”

So, I always set a theme for my birthday year. This past year I focused on embracing my freedom. This next year it’s Smooth Sailing. I just want to lay back, relax, create and let the gentle waves take me wherever they please. Whatever blessings come my way, I’m grasping them without overthinking. And the troubles I encounter.. HA! I’m handing those over to God.

Yep.. Smooth Sailing.

Well, I still have a little over three weeks to build up to the big event. Today I’m celebrating with a road trip and lunch– both work related but I’m going to celebrate like this event was planned in my honor. Then tonight I’m going to chat with a few sistas as we watch our favorite show, Tyler Perry’s Sistas. Yep.. the second half of Season 4 returns tonight! What a way to kick off my celebration!

Anyhoo.. let me publish this so I can get on the road. Enjoy your Wednesday!

Shaun

Life

Celebrating 200 Days

Shaun Bradford
Congratulations Shaun!

DAY 200

I made it! So why does it feel like any other day? Hilarious!

I’m not sure what I expected. Did I expect to wake up to music playing, balloons floating, lights flashing and confetti falling? Y’all, I’m actually laughing. Honestly, what did I expect?

This is my life. I build myself up for something I consider a major event. I think about it for weeks. I anticipate what will happen and how I will react and then… NOTHING. It is just another day, another event.

So what fuels me? What keeps Shaun going?

It appears to be the anticipation of something wonderful possibly happening once a goal is met. However, often.. much too often.. that never happens. So, what do I do? I continue on. I set another goal. I think about it daily. And I allow my imagination to run wild while anticipating a grand finale hoping that one day I will wake up to music playing, balloons floating, lights flashing and confetti falling. Yep.. that’s me!

I love my life. I would not want to live it any other way. Wanna know why? It’s because I know that one day it will happen. I know it will! Listen, I am just as sure of it as I was when I was a little girl dreaming of marrying Michael Jackson. No one could tell me otherwise. Smiling

Thanks for reading and please enjoy your day. See you tomorrow!

Shaun

Life

Hello Sunday

Shaun Bradford

Today would have been Aunt Beaulah’s 65th Birthday. I don’t usually celebrate birthdays of deceased relatives. However, today I am going to celebrate hers. I think it is fitting since we buried her yesterday. I will just call it an extended home going celebration. I believe she would get a kick out of it.

Today is for you, Aunt Beaulah!

Beaulah Sutton
Life

Independence Day 2020

Shaun Bradford
Freedom is not free. What sacrifices are you willing to make?

What legacies are you passing on? What will your descendants say about you?

Please watch NPR’s YouTube video, Frederick Douglass’ Descendants Deliver His ‘Fourth of July’ Speech, and please, please share. Note: The actual speech is titled, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?

Here are my thoughts after watching the video:

I believe Frederick Douglass’ descendants reading his “Fourth of July” speech is just as powerful as the speech itself. It is up to us to continue the difficult conversations surrounding racial issues, even on Independence Day.

Honestly, I considered not sharing this video. I did not want to interrupt the happy celebrations. But are the celebrations truly joyous? Because after the fireworks, BBQs, SAFE social gatherings, and “Happy 4th of July” pictures and posts, racial inequality remains. I mean.. only a few days ago Mississippi finally removed its racially divisive flag— in 2020!! What year did the United States gain its independence? Umm..1776. What year was slavery abolished in the United States? Supposedly 1865. And what year is this, again? Hmm.. 2020 in the 21st century.

Y’all, we cannot continue to pretend everything is okay, because IT IS NOT. Change is happening NOW, and WE must keep up the momentum. We cannot sit back and wait for another great leader to come along and tell us what to do. They have already done that. They have already equipped us with everything we need. Now it is our time to follow through. Not tomorrow or next month, but NOW!

Who’s with me?!

P.S. Be sure to watch the commentary at the end of the video. POWERFUL‼️
‬
‪#HappyFourthOfJuly‬

Shaun

Life

Listen to the Vibe

Shaun Bradford

It is not even 6:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning and I am wide awake. Actually, I have been up for a couple of hours, now. Today I was supposed to go to Mobile to continue my birthday celebration with my sisters. They had a day full of wonderful COVID-19-safe events planned. Unfortunately, the celebration must be postponed.

You see.. yesterday I began feeling sick. More than likely it is sinus issues, but I do not want to chance it. The day before yesterday, Mississippi had a spike in new COVID-19 cases. Y’all, over a 1,000 new cases were reported in one day. Yesterday there were half as many. As much as I want to celebrate with my sisters, I have to stay safe and make sure they remain safe, also. Y’all, this virus is something serious!

Right now I am having an early morning jam session. Zhané’s Vibe is currently playing.

Oh… before I go, we did decide to have a video call later today. So the celebration will continue, just not in person.

Forever Grateful

Shaun