I love you, Shaun. Keep your guard up. If it doesn’t feel right, it’s not. Period.
Journal Entry: July 28, 2021

Life and love flows from your heart. Protect it.♥️ ~Shaun
My life. My world. Love, hope, peace, joy & happiness.
I love you, Shaun. Keep your guard up. If it doesn’t feel right, it’s not. Period.
Journal Entry: July 28, 2021

Life and love flows from your heart. Protect it.♥️ ~Shaun
I’m not sure what I want to write about today so just follow along as I figure out.
So, first thing this morning I attempted to finish a drawing I had been working on. However, the more I worked on it the uglier it became. So I set it aside. Right now I’m really contemplating whether or not I should hit the delete button and start over or work on it later. I named it “Salvage.” Because is it worth salvaging?
Recently… like last week… (by the way, today I have been 50 for exactly ONE month – woohoo!)…
Anyhoo… Last week it dawned on me that as much as I wanted to close the door on so many things associated with the last 50 years, I couldn’t – and boy did I try. Y’all, I was almost there, then my heart, and definitely the Holy Spirit, kicked in. One of the things I could not do was bring the baggage of “unfinished business,” “shutting down,” and “I don’t give a … care,” into my fifties. Honestly, I truly thought closing those doors would give me a fresh start, but I was wrong. Closing those doors only prevented me from feeling every single emotion I needed to feel – specifically the pain of hurts and disappointments.
Last night I received a call from one of my older cousins (actually my mom’s cousin). During our conversation, he began telling me how he always looked up to me. Said I always had my stuff together so he was shocked when he heard I had gotten a divorce. He said that for as far back as he could remember, I had had my life planned out. And he was right, I did. I had everything planned right down to when I would get married and how that marriage would flow. I had written the perfect story. Then life happened. You see, he knew the teenage Shaun. The Shaun who had been hurt but not really hurt. The Shaun who was determined to achieve every single thing she set out to achieve. However, as I mentioned, life happened. One blow to my plan led to another, then another. Pretty soon I no longer had a plan nor confidence.
Eventually, the way I dealt with it was to shutdown emotionally. I believed that the way to get my life back on track and make the most of it was to write another story and control the narrative. One thing I was dead set on was leaving my heart out of it. The goal was to not feel anything, not even anger or sadness. Any time I could feel those feelings creeping up, I would suppress them. Then my forties happened. Y’all, my forties hit and I felt everything! From anger to love, I felt it all.
Now, here I am at the beginning of Year50. If you have been following my journey you know that I tried to close the doors to my past. I wanted to shutdown and do a hard reset, but couldn’t. At the beginning of my forties I was searching for ME, well, last week I actually saw ME. It was like this book of my life was opened and I could see ALL of me including the disappointments and hurts I tried to bury.
After last night’s conversation with my cousin, I realized there was more things I needed to address. One was my desire to control everything to include timing. In one of last week’s blog I wrote about how whatever didn’t happen before 50 was basically a lost cause. Had written another story. Even though I was saying I trusted God’s timing, I really had given Him a time limit, and since He had not met it, I was about to do me. Ha! The joke was on me. You see, while I was going through all of those feelings and emotions during my forties, I was actually building a stronger relationship with God. So although I wanted to do me, I couldn’t and can’t. I belong to God. Period.
As you can see, a lot has already happened on this side of 50 – all good things, things I need for growth. I am so grateful for the wake up call. Looking forward to continuing this journey with God. My focus is finally where it needs to be, on Him and the calling He has for my life.
Before I end, I am also celebrating 800 consecutive days of blogging – 200 to go!
Thanks for reading my real first random rambling from this side of fifty. Praying you have a wonderful week!♥️
Shaun
Facebook Memory: July 24, 2017

Here’s a little something I found… you already know… in my Facebook Memories! I hope that it encourages you as much as it encouraged me.♥️ ~Shaun

Was going to share this with this morning’s blog, but I knew it would have been too long. This memory is a caption that I had written in response to a video Michelle Obama shared on July 7, 2019. She was speaking about women finding it difficult to put themselves first. It has taken a while, but I am finally finding it so much easier to put myself first.
Facebook Memory: July 8, 2019
Good Morning! Here’s today’s social media find. Caution: it’s pretty long, but needed.
I’m a nurturer. I’m a problem solver. If I see something that needs to be done, I do it, whether asked or not. So, I don’t blame anyone else for expecting me to do what I’ve always done.
Since my 45th birthday, stepping back and allowing others to handle problems has become easier. I’m finally focusing on me. These past two weekends have been rejuvenating. I’ve actually enjoyed myself without worrying about my kids (my cheerleaders☺️), my family, or work.
Y’all may think I’m over exaggerating, but I haven’t felt free to only think about myself since I was a little girl. Back then, I was either the oldest, or most “mature,” so I was always put in charge of things. This carried over into my adulthood and 1) was great for my career, 2) benefited others around me, but 3) caused me to lose myself. Well… at 40 I started searching for “ME,” and on June 17, 2019 ALL shackles were released. Whew!! From now on, I’m putting myself first! I deserve it!
Note: Please stop placing so many responsibilities on girls at a young age. It’s okay to teach them to be self sufficient, but also teach them how to take care of themselves. When we know better we must do better. Let’s raise, whole women, not broken women. That’s all!😊
I am enough. Taking care of Shaun. Self care is a must.
Okay… that’s all for today.♥️
Woke up this morning feeling so blessed!
Y’all, I can’t believe I will be 50 years old next Saturday! 50…. 5-0… Half a century!! Yes, ME!! Can’t you tell I’m excited! Smile
Y’all, God has been so very good to me… so good. I am truly, truly blessed!

I cannot end without thanking God for His love, mercy and grace. Yes, I’m most definitely blessed.
Year 50 is loading…
P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEBORAH!!! Wishing you many, many blessings. Love you!
Shaun
Choose kindness, even when handling yourself. Always, always, always be kind.♥️ ~Shaun

So let’s talk about yesterday. Yesterday I found myself dealing with an issue I thought I had mastered– loving and accepting ALL of me.
Yesterday, I allow someone’s words, spoken with good intentions, make me feel like the weird little girl who always spoke before she thought. Yes, that was me. Whatever I thought came out, and always at the oddest moments, especially when I was excited.
Well, it still happens today. My siblings and kids are always reminding me that I sometimes say weird or unfiltered things. The crazy thing is I have absolutely no idea when I’ve said something wrong or weird until it’s pointed out. So now, I always try to think before I respond, especially when I am excited.
Let’s just say, yesterday was one of those days. I was happy and excited and I retweeted a tweet without knowing if the information was factual. Then someone saw it and asked me if I was going to delete it. Y’all, they didn’t know about the blog I had written about it or my fangirl behavior. I’m laughing now, but yesterday, I was a mess. I allowed that person’s comment to make me feel like that weird little girl again. So I unpublished the blog; however, I did not delete the tweet. It wasn’t like I was the only one who had tweeted it.
Anyhoo… yesterday I wrote another blog after I unpublished the original one and I ended it with this–
I went from being happy to feeling weird. This is definitely something I need to work through. Living a life where you feel you can’t fully express yourself isn’t really living, is it?
Less than two weeks to 50. Will I live my life out loud or continue to box myself in because the real Shaun is too much for most?
Not even two hours later I republished my original blog with the caption – “DECIDED TO LIVE!!” I realized that that weird little girl feeling I had was something I had placed on myself. I created the “weird girl” box ages ago and was about to retreat back into it. As I say so very often, I am so grateful God loves me and will not allow me to stay down. After thinking about how I allowed one comment to take me back to a place I thought I had passed, I decided I had a choice, I could keep carrying that box around or destroy it. I decided to destroy it!
I told y’all I’m dropping baggage before I head into this next half of my life. Either I’m going to embrace ALL of me or stay bound. Y’all, I am choosing ALL of me!
Ten more days! Only God knows what other baggage is still left to be released or destroyed. One thing I can say for sure is He’s bringing all of it to the forefront saying you either release it or remain where you are. So, yeah, the ball is definitely in my court.
Okay… I did not intend for this blog to be this long.
Message – Remember to be kind to yourself and embrace ALL of you!
Love you!
Shaun
“Just believe!” We say it all the time in passing. However, most of us never put too much thought into it, we just say it. As we all know, the action of believing is much more than a thought.
Question – How strong is your belief system?

According to last year’s journal entry (June 10, 2022), I was watching Bishop T. D. Jakes sermon, “Hurdles to Wholeness.” Think I need to rewatch it.
In his message, he spoke of faulty belief systems and how we will only rise to the levels of our beliefs. Hmmm
Here are a few more questions–
Do you believe in what you are believing for?
Or
Are you all talk and either, do not really want it… or… you do not believe you will receive it?
According to Bishop Jakes, however you respond to those questions will dictate where you go in life.
I guess you can say my Saturday has started off DEEP! Whew!! Wasn’t expecting an assignment for this morning. Time for me to reevaluate my belief system(s)–thought I was good–and make some necessary changes. Y’all, I am really serious about not taking baggage into the next half of my life, and part of that baggage is a faulty belief system. Either I want what I say I want or not!
On another note…
Two more weeks until Year 50 is here! Don’t have anything planned, but I am still excited. I actually feel like I’m getting ready to cross over into a new space in life. I used to believe I needed to bring in 50 by doing something huge. Something I could take pictures of and say, “I did that!” Now, it’s all about the big show that’s happening on the inside. I’m excited about where God is taking me spiritually, mentally and emotionally. Once those are in check, everything else will follow. Yeah… I’m excited!
Thank for reading! Praying you have a wonderful weekend.♥️
Shaun
Was scrolling through my Twitter feed and saw a face I had not seen in years. I just smiled. They were still doing them. When I tell you, that one face was all the confirmation I needed for why I cannot go back to what I once knew. It’s also confirmation that it is time to move on from where I am, presently.
Actress KJ Smith tweeted the following–
“I used to ride for a lot of people who never rode for me…the end of an era…”
I felt this to my core. I used to put my entire being into others goals and dreams because I absolutely loved seeing them win. In the end, I discovered that they would have never done the same for me.
As KJ said, it’s the end of an era. Going forward, I am not going to invest more into others than I do myself.
Year 50 is loading.
After my mom died, I started purging things I had been holding on to for years. These were things I just could not bring myself to let go of. Today, I need to finish purging. I refuse to take that weight with me into the next part of my life. It’s time to make room for my future.
Yes, a new era is dawning.
Feeling grateful and blessed.♥️
Shaun
Stay true to your authentic self. Either they will love and accept you as you are, or not. If not, move on.♥️ ~ Shaun

Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.
Author Unknown
God is doing some amazing things, and I am finally happy and present enough to enjoy them.
Taking selfies is my own personal love language. It’s me saying, “Shaun, I see you. I love you. I got you.”




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