Women In Black

Gratitude In Real Life

• WIB • Season 1 • Episode 14

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In today’s episode, we get real about gratitude — not the surface-level kind, but the kind that’s forged through survival, motherhood, and faith when everything feels heavy. We talk about friendship that arrives right on time, the power of real mentors, and how choosing kindness (even when you’re hurting) can change everything.

We Open Up About:

  • Being thankful for peace of mind & sanity
  • Having your whole life packed in a car — and still choosing to rise
  • Finding a true village when you least expect it
  • Knowing when God is positioning you for the next level
  • Why paying it forward matters now, not just during holidays

Quote of the Episode:
“This is my step, not my stop.”

Call to Action:
➡️ Share this episode with someone who needs encouragement
➡️ Message us if you want to anonymously bless a family this season
➡️ Practice a small act of kindness this week — and watch how it shifts your spirit

Follow Us:

 IG: @WeAre.WomenInBlack | @DezDoesItAll | @SaySomethin_Josh
 FB: @WomenInBlack

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SPEAKER_04:

Marry a man who wanna be a man and who go and look at themselves and do a self-audit and say, I need to do this, yeah. I need I need to be better. And I want to be better. Not just I need to because society says or this or that. I want to be a better person, I want to be a better son, I want to be a better husband, I want to be a better friend. Like you need people like that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, when it comes to marriage, because you want somebody who can grow with you.

SPEAKER_01:

It does not hurt to be kind and teach your kids that. I notice when I do that, when I've done that, my kids do it. Yeah. So that goes back to teaching your kids. Like my kids have no problem with saying, I appreciate our friendship.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, I do. And I know I don't say enough. She puts up with me because I'm very stubborn. Believe it or not, I sit here all calm, cool, and collected. I am stubborn.

SPEAKER_01:

Working in the city and seeing so many people outside of your mind makes you so appreciative, so grateful, so thankful that you are inside.

SPEAKER_02:

Woman in Black is where we put down the cape and pick up the mic, being authentically who we are, where we are, unmasked, unfiltered, and unapologetic.

SPEAKER_04:

All right, ma'am. How was your day? How was your week? How was your everything? My everything.

SPEAKER_01:

It was good. Um, it was chilling. My older kids all ditched me. Um, we don't really celebrate Halloween. Never did, but I do love when the little kids, I love when everybody gets dressed up because that's something that keeps people together, keeps people smiling. So I love that. Um, so Jace and I, we all went trick-or-treating with uh Dez. There was like only, these were all elementary kids, right? Yeah, they were little. Fifth grade and under. Fifth grade and under. We went from pre-K to fifth grade. Lord. And then towards the end, they got me.

SPEAKER_04:

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

They got me to the point of the little kids left and I was with the older elementary school kids. And they got to the houses saying, You want us to uh do a trick and then get the treat? Or you want to trick before the treat? And all the houses are like, Yeah, go ahead. And I'm over here, like, no, just take the treat. But it was a good time. So I'm chilling. God is good. I'm chilling, I'm blessed. I'm a miracle. That's right. Oh, how are you? I'm good.

SPEAKER_04:

I slept most of the day because these kids wore me out last night. Josh was sitting there, like, I she said, I can't talk right now. I'm still recuperating.

SPEAKER_01:

She was like everything going on around her, she like I was overstimulated.

SPEAKER_03:

She was like 100%.

SPEAKER_01:

I can't believe my eyes were going.

SPEAKER_03:

I don't know what it was a lot.

SPEAKER_01:

It was a lot. And they thought we were gonna keep walking. First of all, we you do you know how many houses we would have hit if they didn't do a trick? Because they won't be extra. But next year I'ma just pass it out.

SPEAKER_04:

Oh, okay, okay. Yeah. Well, how? You just gonna let Jace go to the neighbors real quick?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

No, I'm gonna drop him off with y'all.

SPEAKER_04:

I mean, they would love that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I'm gonna just drop him off with y'all.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, because this neighborhood. I mean, that I do appreciate that though. Like, we could just go up and around and around and be done. But it was cold last night. And yeah, I was ready. DJ was like, only one more house, okay? One more house. I don't want to do this no more.

SPEAKER_01:

Who even cares about the buckets are filled? We're done. We did our job. Yep. But yeah. We are ending Halloween. We are move. Well, we've been in the fall season, right? Yeah. But now this is usually when we take the time for Thanksgiving. Like, what are what are you grateful for? I appreciate our friendship.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, I do. And I know I don't say it enough. She puts up with me because I'm very stubborn. Believe it or not, I sit here all calm, cool, and collected. I am stubborn. And she be putting that out.

SPEAKER_01:

Because one thing I'm gonna do is say something.

SPEAKER_04:

And I be like, no, because I don't I don't want to. But you know, deep down inside you do. Like dad, like, so what? I'm not doing it. It'd be a hard no for me. No. And my sisters, they just go along with me. They check me. Don't give me wrong. They check me, but they will go along with me because some parts of our day could be the same. Like, yeah, because we don't got to. But I'll be like, yeah, right, because we don't got to. And Joshua looking at me like, but you should.

SPEAKER_01:

You don't gotta do nothing.

SPEAKER_04:

Like that's the type of uh exchange we'll have. So I'm thankful for our friendship. I have a sister friend. Um, all the time I've been down here for five years and I didn't have a close friendship. But you know, it's like I met you, we started like really chilling and started liking each other. It was a slow burn for us. Like we took a little time, I guess. But then when it hit, it like when it's like click, click, click, click, click, poop.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, because yeah, it didn't happen like just like that. Yeah, because I'm I'm a nice person, but I ain't about to be trying to get close to people.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, and I speak to everybody. I be like, hi, didn't I sit next to me? I didn't want to talk about you. Cause I like I said, I'm too nice. I be talking, yeah, she did I'm too nice. I be talking to everybody, but I talk to people, but I don't like befriend people. She too nice.

SPEAKER_01:

Like she might oh yeah, because I'm sitting over here, y'all sitting over here, and I am just the person like hi, keep it moving. That's what she does. But no, this one, yeah. I'm like, so how was she gonna talk?

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, and she be like, they're not our friends.

SPEAKER_01:

No, no, the only time I mix and I'm like, oh, let's do this. Because in my mind, I'm like, oh, all my friends, we can do this together, but they're my friends. But this one, oh yeah, because I'm sitting over here. Oh, I bought her son a piece of this because he was sitting right here too. Girl, if you don't sit your jolly behind down somewhere, but it's the season, it ain't Christmas yet. Go sit down somewhere and saying and I'll be mad at Naomi and Nia.

SPEAKER_04:

And I'll be I'll be a part of the problem. My girls act just like me. Nia probably got a little more restraint because she be like, but Naomi don't have no restraint. She invites everybody, everywhere, everything. Lord have mercy. What am I creating? But yes, thankful for our friendship because that came at a time where I really needed friendship, but I didn't know how to express it. I don't, I'm very selective with my who I call friends. Um, my husband's like, I don't think you click with that bird, I don't think that's gonna work, making it worse. And then when he was like, he's like, the only person I can really see you being friends with is Josh. And he called it.

SPEAKER_01:

He called it, he did, he put it together with his big old head.

SPEAKER_04:

Big old head. He called it, but um, and then my sister moved down here right at like as we was getting to know each other. It just worked out, it just worked out, but um, thankful for you know my family. I have such a close-knit sibling, like sibling relationships, and I don't always realize it until I have conversations with people. But I speak to at least one of my siblings, at least two of my siblings every week. I'm talking to somebody. I'm thankful for the calm that um I'm getting to and just an opportunity to settle in to um my womanhood in another level. Because I need it. Like my nervous system needed this. So I'm thankful.

SPEAKER_05:

Thankful for my thankful.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, I am. He is a piece of work. Me and my husband's just the opposite. Just put it that way. That's the easiest way to say it. But um, I love him. Um, and I appreciate him for all even, you know, we don't always get it right, but every season he's like, okay, I want to be a better man. And he reevaluates himself. Yeah, my mom told me when I got married, she was like, it's not you're not gonna have perfect seasons. She said, But you want to marry a man who wants to be a man and who go and look at themselves and do a self-audit and say, I need to do this, I gotta be better. Yeah, I need I need to be better. And I want to be better. Not just I need to because society says or this or that, I want to be a better person, I want to be a better son, I want to be a better husband, I want to be a better friend. Like you need people like that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, when it comes to marriage, because you want somebody who's gonna grow with you. Yeah, and so when my my mom mentioned that, and we when we have our conversations about marriage, growing together. I like what I hear and stuff, and you gotta do that, and our marriage hasn't been perfect, you know. We have our ups and downs, but God just we know we're supposed to be together, we know we're supposed to be together, and um, but God has given given us grace to tolerate one another. But um, yeah, I'm just really I'm just thankful for my sanity.

SPEAKER_01:

Peace of mind is something that people take so lightly because working in the city and seeing so many people outside of their mind makes you so appreciative, so grateful, so thankful that you are inside of it. Like my first experience with someone outside of their mind, I was I was coming down into the train station, and this guy was trying to use the bathroom while we were walking in like on the stairs, in the corner of the stairs, but he kept waiting. So I was I'm looking like I'm still new to the city at this point. So what do I do? He's gonna say, Come on, go! I was interrupting him. I am cracking though. I was like, all I could do in that moment was say, thank you, God. Like, take the wheel, thank you. And I be pleading the blood of Jesus so much, because don't play with me and don't play with Jesus. That's what this lady I be following. Say, don't play with Jesus, she don't play with Jesus. I don't play about Jesus and I don't play play about his blood that I be pleading over myself, especially in that city. I know, because Lord, but no, I'm so grateful for peace of mind, sanity, my family, our friendship, um, especially my kids and my village. Like, let me tell y'all I'm going, I don't, I'm not like a real mushy person. It gotta be something that's gonna make me you know emotional. But when I tell you my village, it ain't no village like the one I got. Like, ain't no village like the one I got. When I tell you, I now I can get emotional from my mom, from my brothers, from my my aunts, my friends, my co-workers, like just there's no village like the one I got. Um God knew beforehand that I was gonna be in survival mode as a mom. And he did his big one. Like, y'all could go get a village all y'all want, but stay away from mine because they mine. But he did his big one. Like, my kids don't miss anything. Not to say that we rely on my village for everything, but it's the thought of we could just be chilling or nothing's going on, haven't talked to anyone. Someone will pick up that phone, call, text, y'all okay over there? I was thinking about Jace out, he wanna do this or duty, Tyler, Jalen. Like, somebody in my village is always right there. Like, without me asking for anything, especially my one aunt, she just be like, Oh, I'll do this. Like, it's just like because my mom always says, We see what you do, we see you doing what you're supposed to do, going above and beyond. So we we're not obligated to help you, but we got your back. And I really I'm so grateful in this season in my life, and the next season of my life, I'm gonna be forever grateful for my village. Like, I'm so grateful. Like, even Big Head Boo Boo. Like, that's my dog. Like, I'm so I'm just grateful, you know what I mean? I'm just forever grateful. I'm grateful that in a time where people don't have any money to go get food, that uh I I can afford to go get me and my kids some food or help somebody else if needed. You know what I mean? Like I'm just grateful, like I'm just grateful because what was sent to kill, shill, and destroy, what was sent to have me go crazy, none of that touch. So I'm just I'm telling you, like, some days all I do is just say thank you, God. Like that's just the season of my life I'm in right now. And every day is not perfect, but I just be so if y'all knew everything I've been through, y'all would be up here just as grateful, thanking God, shouting on this couch, everything. Like, I'm forever grateful because life be life.

SPEAKER_04:

That's all I was about to say. Like, um, I wasn't always in a season where I could be the lender and not the borrower. You know, as an adult, yes, because when I tell you my mom's goal was to break generational curses, that's what she was really working hard for. But you know, as someone, you know, what we're going through in this environment, my mom always was a worker. And um I I I feel super blessed that she gave us that mentality to that figure it out type of mentality. Even when she didn't have, like she had started uh a woman's group called Women in Need when we was growing up. And she would go to health fairs and everything, give out information for women to find shelters and food and all of that. And nobody knew there was a point where we was in one. We was in shelter, but we and we didn't have food, and we was going to food banks every Saturday and all this stuff. And my mom, even in that, she goes, she's trying to help other people. As soon as she finds something out, she she'll go there, she'll be like, Oh, can we have brochures? I like to let women know what's going on and what they like the resources they have, and she'll set up shop, and that's what she did. And I I'm because my mom's such a private person. Sorry, mom, for putting your business out there. And my story too, I love you. But um, be a private person. I don't know that some people even was aware that she had this nonprofit, and then as an adult, like my goal was to take what my mom did and bring it to the next level through women who do it all, and just giving them the support and the resources and everything, whether it be career, business, or home, and the encouragement to go to the next level. Um, because there was times as a single mom where I didn't have a place to go. Like, you know, I always had a job, but there was a time where I'm like, dang, I got nowhere to live.

SPEAKER_01:

And I had two kids at the time. Or I don't got nothing to eat.

SPEAKER_04:

Yo, been there. So when I say I'm thankful, I'm super thankful. Like I practice gratitude because I know how it is to have your whole house packed up in your car and like I don't know what to do, but I'ma just keep going. I'ma keep going. And when I say, I ain't gonna cry, when I say God, it was more than my faith because faith without works is dead, but I knew what God put in me, and I refuse to have anybody else tell me who I am when God already told me who I am. So when times got hard, I stayed the course, put one foot in front of the other, and I said, I'm gonna figure this out. I'll fall on my face and pray, I'll follow my face and cry, I'll follow my face, get those emotions out. I said, God, give me the plan, give me the strategy, give me wisdom to get to this next level. And every time he showed up, every time he showed up, and I'm super thankful for that. And I'm glad that I was obedient, obedient when he told me to put$10 in somebody's pocket, obedient when he said put a hundred, a thousand in the in the and it goes up. When he tells me, I'm I'm gonna act on it. Because first of all, the the finances I gain from being obedient, they not even mine because he knew I'm gonna do he know I'm gonna do right by his money. He said, I'm gonna give it to her because she's gonna do right by it. He understands um what it what it means to sow. You know what I'm saying? And so like I I'm thankful that I I you know how we talk about the generational curses sometimes. Thankful for the generation of generational blessing and call.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

Because I seen my mom do it. You know what I'm saying? I seen her do it, and I seen where God brought her. And so I seen a formula and and I applied it to my life as well. And uh so gratitude's big. I look at my home and I'm like, God, thank you. Because I never imagined this. I was okay, oh my god, just give me somewhere to live. Like, not trying to be funny. No, but seriously, but yeah, like I needed that. Like a part of my story, there's so much, but when I was going through a transition where I didn't have a place to live, all my stuff is in my car, and I had to, you know, which it was me and Tristan at the time I was pregnant. It's a tough story to talk about, but I had to sleep at my job. Can I sleep at my job, y'all? And I ain't miss a beat. I didn't think, I I told myself, I said, listen, you ain't gonna think about where you are. You gonna keep, you're gonna get up every day, you're gonna get this done. I will work seven, six in the morning, actually, to eleven at night. It'd be an empty room. I would go sleep, wake up again, seven, seven in the morning or six in the morning to eleven at night, go sleep. And I was a supervisor, but at that time, supervisor, I was making like$17 an hour. I needed a two-bedroom apartment in New Jersey. What two-bedroom apartment?

SPEAKER_01:

New Jersey at that.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, I had to get, I had to stay in somebody's attic right after that. So when I got, I I took whatever God gave me, uh, uh attic. I was embarrassed. I said, Ain't nobody come over here. And here my friends come, not caring a bit, up the nurse stairs. What you need? You need help break this up. If my sister came over there and cleaned up and put stuff down, all that stuff. I said, I had your mindset. This is my step, not my stop. You know what I'm saying? And so I was like, all right, we got about a year at most. How much money can I save in this year? What can I do? Like, I'll put my budget together. Cool. Something happened in the city, and God expedited that because I had to get the heck up out of it.

SPEAKER_01:

Because he can do that. So while we be planning how what we need, God be like, I love her ambition. I love that she got this planned out, but watch what I do for her.

SPEAKER_04:

But it came at a time where I was scared for my life, I was scared for our life. I said, I'm not staying another day in this town, in this city. God help me get the heck up out of here. And I did that, and I've been on my own since I was 18. I had my own apartment and stuff, so that little phase, I just knew that I was gonna get through it. Yeah, thankful that, like again, when you in it, sometimes you don't realize it. Like when I was talking to somebody and they was talking about being homeless, I'm like, dang, was, but I didn't label myself as that at the time. I just was in between houses, right?

SPEAKER_01:

Exactly. But when you sit back and you're like, dang, I told you a couple weeks ago, recently, it started like a couple weeks ago. I just been having flashbacks to everything I've been through. And I thank God for that. Yeah, because I never want to be that person who forgets. Like, I don't want to keep living in it and thinking about it, but I don't want to be that lady that forgot where she came from. Right. Nope. Yeah, not at all. So yeah. That about it there though. Listen, you know what? I also thank God for where I am, right? I thank God for where I used to be, and I thank God for where he's about to take me. Y'all can say this, right? And everybody be like, you know, next year I'm gonna do this. But when I tell y'all 2026 about to be it for me, 2026 is about to be lit. That's what it's about to be it. It is about to be lit. So I thank God in advance for where we're about to go. I thank him. I thank him for where I am now, and I thank him for where how far he has brought me. Like, period. Yep. Yeah, yep. I I'm just listening we live in a world where anything could go left immediately, and I just thank God for staying afloat. Yes, God. I'm just so thankful, appreciative. And I also want to um show appreciation to mentors because you guys don't know how important it is. Um and sometimes your mentees might not always express how important you are to them, but to the mentors that do it from just because God placed it on your heart, it's your purpose, it's your passion. We think we are thankful for you because each one of my boys are have been blessed with a mentor. Um you know what I mean? So that's big to me. Like that's like a huge thing for me. So I want to take to the time out and just be thankful for the mentors. Yes, they're a part of my village, but they need that acknowledgement.

SPEAKER_04:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, those big brothers, those like uncles, or you know what I mean? Like, I thank God for y'all. I really do. Like, y'all are important. Keep doing y'all things.

SPEAKER_04:

And everybody, it, you know, seasons, right? And when you position yourself, God will send you um the right people, uh, whether it's for your children or for yourself, right? Like, um, I'm big on mentorship. Um, I actually taught a course on mentorship in corporate, yeah. Because it's big. I started a mentorship program for um black women and um clinical research. Um with one I I didn't do it by myself. You know I'm always gonna acknowledge people um with our our employee resources. Um, but that was major to me because I I led the effort um to keep it going and to just put people in position. But for me, uh, I didn't have a lot of black women that were mentors. There was there's like one person and God blessed her to pour on me when I needed it. Don't get me wrong. Um, but like consistent mentor. There's actually this Jewish guy.

SPEAKER_05:

Jeff.

SPEAKER_04:

Um and his wife are a blessing. They continue to speak life into me. Um, and from a business angle and just exposure to things I just wouldn't have otherwise known. Right. Like he seen my business mind, my entrepreneurship mind, and he's like, yo, like he ain't say yo, but he's like, You got something so special because I'll go in those rooms and be like, why don't you guys do this, did, did, did, that, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. When I tapped in to that again, yeah. Yeah, but yeah, mentorship is important because God sometimes allows what they go through to be your lesson and be your blessing.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04:

You know, your mentor, what your mentor went through, will be your lesson and your blessing.

SPEAKER_01:

What's your Thanksgiving tradition? Do you sit around the table and we all say what we are thankful for? Because we don't. We be all over the place. Just trying to eat. Just eat. My mom gotta say this long behind prayer. Yeah. Every I don't it don't even gotta be Thanksgiving. She's gonna say the longest grace every single time. We'd be like, wrap it up, wrap it up, because she's gonna say the longest prayer. But what do you guys do? It's a Thanksgiving tradition. Um remember if you are one of those people out here that does not have the huge family, that family you create, whether those it's those two friends over there that you have created a family with, they are important. Remember to spend time this holiday season with those who show up for you, who reciprocate the same love for you as you do them, and those who you do not who do not make you feel uncomfortable.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, and send thank you messages, thank you texts. You don't even gotta go all out. One year God had me in a space where I sent a thank you message, like a long thank you message to all my aunts and my siblings, specific to what they've done for me in my life. Yeah, the way they were so happy to be acknowledged. Yeah, it really, I was like, oh, I'm like, well, thank God for my video. You never know what they need.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that means a lot. So get your get a get your family together, whether it's the family you were born with, the family you created, um, and enjoy this holiday season. We all have something to be thankful for. And you know what? Pay something forward. Let's do that, let's challenge each other to pay something forward because it's a lot of kids out here. Yeah, there's pantries open, right? Yo, I'm stuck on this, and y'all gonna keep hearing me talk about this until they give them people their food stamps. Okay, like for real. Like, seriously, let's pay it forward, let's donate to a family. Like, let's do it now. Like, let's not wait till Christmas time. If you want to send something to us and we donate, we find a family in need, we can do that.

SPEAKER_04:

Yes, because one thing about um not to put it out there, but women who do it all. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Mother's Day. We always find somebody, and maybe that's why I did what I did this morning. What did you just say? Women who do it all. My business. Women who do what? Women who do it all. What business? Okay, and it's like okay, so listen, I'm a serial entrepreneur because one thing I'm gonna do is make a business out of something I enjoy. Don't bear no mind, get to it. Um, but yeah, yeah. We need to do that uh that TikTok are real life because my friend, and you better let you better let it do that. Women who do it all, I'm getting it back up and running. Um, I started it in 2020 and we have a big Facebook presence where my goal is just to encourage women who are doing it all. You know, I'm not trying to promote that hustle lifestyle, but if you have to do it, let's get together and get behind each other and do it, and let's support one another um what and whatever level they are in. But within our group, we would have raffles. Um, my girl Mo, she would uh do our engagement and um pick uh raffle winner. And we have during the pandemic, because of something similar to this, where some people weren't getting things, so we donated face masks, we donated, um, we blessed like five families with$500. But those are the monetary things. Yes, those are fun, those are exciting things, but we were teaching people how to get jobs, right?

SPEAKER_01:

We were teaching people how to open up. That sticks, yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

We were giving them the playbook, the downloads and all that, the challenges. Like, how do you get out of a negative mindset and negative way of thinking? Let's do a seven-day challenge together. So, those are the type of things just creating community where women understand that there's other people out here like you in whatever phase you're in, and there's challenges or communities that could help you push through it and information you can receive. So I'm always for that. And um had to take a little break to kind of get my own home in order. Um, but I'm back at it and I'm super excited about what this is gonna grow into.

SPEAKER_01:

If you don't know a family or you want to be anonymous, send us a message. Head forward this year, guys. And not let's not just wait till Christmas time like that. Yeah, let's just do it now. And people are hungry now. People need them.

SPEAKER_04:

Exactly. I'm oh I'm I'm okay with telling our story and sharing and stuff, but everything doesn't have to be public. Like this is the first time I'm telling people what we did and Women Who Do It All, other than the people who was in there experiencing it. Right. You know, because I'm like, this is my trial, this is my community, this is my village. Like, I don't gotta tell everybody what we're doing, right? And so, and so if you just want to be a secret blesser, I don't care if you had a Dunker Donuts and you're paying it for, or you see somebody at the register and you pay for their stuff, you never know who the people are who are in need. Like, sometimes we try to guess, but it could be a next door neighbor. They probably look like they got it all together. Because one thing my mom did was make sure our hair was done and we had clean clothes on. People ain't know we were struggling, okay? But do what God tells you to do. Be obedient to what God told you to do and who he told you to bless. Because even if they don't need it, let them know I'm I want to pay it forward. And maybe they take on that mindset because if they don't need it, maybe they'll pay it forward to a family who does.

SPEAKER_01:

And it doesn't always have to be financial, right? Yeah. Um, let's stop walking around with these mean mugging faces on. It's okay to smile at people and hold a door for them and ask people how they're doing today. You know, because honestly, somebody battling with depression with a whole bunch of money, they don't need that money. Right. They just need they sometimes they just need to hear, have a good day, have a blessed day. Or your hair is so pretty. I love you. You look so beautiful. Like, let's just throw it, let's just piggyback off each other with these acts of kindness. It does not hurt to be kind. And teach your kids that because teach your kids to be kind.

SPEAKER_04:

One day one of our neighbors had a beautiful dress. I don't know where she was going. Ne was like, oh, her dress is so pretty. I said, let her know that. I think she would appreciate that. Yes. And so she said, Your dress is so nice.

SPEAKER_01:

You look good. I like that. I don't care. I don't care where we are. If I think you look, I think you wearing that, or I think special, listen, or y'all could call me what y'all want. If somebody smelled good, I'm like, you smell good. I was walking down Broad Street one day, and this lady smelled so good. And she was like, Oh, let me show you what I got on. And it was this like um Muslim like she was like, That's what I got. I was like, girl, that smelled good, and that matches your your um chemical girl, it's it's for you. She was like, Thank you, girl. Like she was hype.

SPEAKER_04:

You know what she walked by this because of this? Uh-huh. Because I said that. And she was like, Well, let me tell you how to get my phone and down to my phone. Cause I'm like, what is that?

SPEAKER_02:

I'm even gonna say it. Why you smell so good, girl?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so like it's okay to acknowledge people and let them know. And I I I noticed when I do that, when I've done that, my kids do it. Yeah. So that goes back to teaching your kids. Like, my kids have no problem with saying, that's a nice shirt. Yeah. That man got a nice shape up over there. I wonder who cut his hair. Like, be human. Exactly. It's okay to be human. And it's I think, all right, I'm gonna leave y'all with this. I'm thankful that I don't have a gatekeeping spirit because I could give you the formula, but that don't mean you gonna write it out how I do. That don't mean you're gonna mix it just like you can't do it just like me. Yeah, but I don't have to gatekeep it. I wanna see everybody win. So I'm thankful not to have that kind of spirit. Like, I don't gatekeep, like I'm the type of person they be like, your jacket is cute. Yeah, girl, because I got this from uh Target like four years ago and it was only$17. You think they got one now? I don't know, but you can go check. Go look online. That's how I'll be yes, like it's nothing wrong with helping people. Like, it's really we all need somebody. So in this holiday season, let's just not even talk about the holidays, right? Let's just go into being thankful. Let's be in a season of Thanksgiving. Because we really are. So in this season, like everybody show gratitude, appreciate one another, help somebody. We we are all in need in some way, shape, or form right now, right? And that's just what it is. We're in need of something, whether it's a coffee, a bottle of water, the treadmill at the gym. We all in need of something. So help each other. It ain't gonna hurt you. I drink Waikiki water. That blue bottle, it's well water. I used to drink well water growing up because we ain't we I that's what all we that's what we had. That's what we had growing up, a well. Yeah. So that's how that's another reason. That's another way for you to decipher, First then, from where I grew up. We have wells.

SPEAKER_04:

All right, it had city water. We yes, because I had a well and we had to put we had to put the bucket down and pump that down.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, no, we don't gotta do that. It's connected to the house.

SPEAKER_04:

Oh no, we didn't have that when where my mom lived before we moved to the uh city, like where I lived before we moved to the city. We had like a legit well we had to put the bucket down. So if our water, because it was sometimes our water was shut off. My mom lost her her mom pretty young, and all three sisters were staying in the house. The water got shut off, it got shut off. We had to go put the water down. Well, get the well water, put it in tub, pour it, warm it up first on the stove, and then pour it inside the tape baths. Life was whole.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, well, that happens with us. That would happen with us if the um hot water tank went or the well went bad. We would have to get some water, boil it, like yeah, so yeah, drinking water and all that, yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

But yeah, but that's crazy. Okay, wow. Look at that. We just learned something else. All right, y'all. We're gonna let you go.

SPEAKER_01:

Have a good Friday.

SPEAKER_03:

Have a good one.

SPEAKER_01:

Bye.

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Desiree Underwood-Williams

Co-host
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Joshlin Bartley

Co-host