Within/Without

Peace Y’all, Today I feel like building about my hair. I have been on loc sites all day and I feel the need to contribute to the interweb. And don’t be looking for pictures. You know I’m not showing you any! I got my 1st perm at age 7. Mommie hijacked me and told me I was about to be initiated into womanhood. I needed to learn early that it hurts to be a woman. She didn’t lie. I cried and had to be held down while that kiddie perm burned my scalp. I stopped perming in the 90’s because I was rocking those Janet Jackson Poetic Justice braids. I found that braids held better on natural hair. I considered keeping the fro, but I had no information on how to do my hair and the internet wasn’t like it is now. So I permed for another 4 years. I went natural this last time in 2000. I had always had a sensitive scalp and would burn easy. Becoming a vegetarian just pushed my scalp issues over the top. My hair has been loced since 2008. I had tentatively placed the date to be during the year...

Peace. This is a ladies post. So if your a man or skeeve easily this is your opportunity to bounce. If you stay, you get what you get. I have decided that I will no longer exercise while on cycle. And I refuse to feel bad about said decision. I have gone over this a number of times. I have read that women shouldn't do yoga while on cycle. I am not basing my decision completely on something I've read. But it does help that other people have grappled with this issue. I am extending that to include all exercise. I can't speak for all women, but my cycles are heavy, physically draining and painful. I literally suffer through them. Exercise does in fact change the quality of the cycles, but not for the better. They get worse. They pain is more acute. Currently, I haven't left the house in 3 days. And what's the big deal suspending activity for a few days to properly care for my body? There are those women who have light cycles that last a day or two. I'm no...

Peace. When I turned 30, I was expecting a traumatic experience. There was a little trauma (I found my 1st gray hair) but most of it was the build up. 30 wasn’t really all that bad… in retrospect. But, it wasn’t just about that day or even that year. By the time I was 32 I could see that there were some big physical difference from me at that age and me just 5 years younger. One of the big differences was my inability to party hard like I used to be able to in my 20’s. A lot of my changes were, admittedly, mental. I didn’t want to be out so late. And since I was married, I didn’t want male attention. But I remember in my 20’s being able to hang out all night and work the next day. Example: Age 26 found me with 2 jobs. Job one had me working 55 hours/week 8am-ish to sometimes 9pm. Job 2 had me working 36 hours from 7pm to 3am. I did this for maybe 2 years? I worked on my feet at both jobs. I don’t ever remember being wacked out tired. I still had a man, my friends, my customs (hair ...