When she called and told me the title of her essay, I was immediately intrigued.
"Priorities," she said.
That's something that I have struggled with for years. Not the big ones, like family and faith. Ok, maybe sometimes faith. But stuff like my health, taking time for myself and juggling my many business related responsibilities. Especially, when it comes to work and balance, I often feel like my priorities are out of whack.
Lashieka Purvis Hunter and I are former colleagues at Essence magazine, both former editors who worked long hours at the office and then hit the Long Island Railroad for an one-hour commute home. We worked together for months before we accidentally ran into each other on the train and realized that not only were we both Long Islanders, but we lived in the same town ! Shame!! And I could walk to her mother-in-law's house. That is, if Long Islanders ever did such a thing.
But like many women, when Lashieka had her baby boy, her priorities changed and like many moms who struggle with being there for our children and nurturing the careers we worked hard for, Lashieka left Essence for something closer to home and more suited to her current priorities: mothering.
And though we live in the same town and have yet to meet up for lunch at one of the many new "hot" spots in Bay Shore (yes, we have a few!) that we keep talking about meeting up at, I was really proud to see Lashieka doing her thang and earning a spot in a powerful new collection of essays, Souls of My Young Sisters.
The Souls of My Sisters series is a best selling series of books where successful black women share their unforgettable personal stories of faith, hope, and healing. This new book is for young sisters. And for those young in heart.
Lashieka's moving essay takes you through how watching her grandfather die changed her life. Changed her priorities.
When I asked Lashieka what inspired her to write the essay, this is what she said:
"I have to tell you that seeing my grandfather pass away right in front of my eyes really changed me. It made me appreciate the people around me and it made me appreciate life. It made me realize that the things you worry about on a daily basis are minute. As he was dying, I know that there were things my grandfather wished he could have done, and things he wished he could have said, but he didn't get the chance to do that because he was probably doing what we all do, run, run, run, just going through the motions of life without really living it. Now I realized that you absolutely cannot just simply go through the motions. You have to really experience and appreciate life."
Sounds like powerful wisdom for young sisters. And the not-so young.
I just picked up my copy and I'm impressed. Plus, I'm thinking about all the young women in my family and mentoring circle I can buy the book for. While relearning a few key lessons from the 20s that I forgot in my 30s.
Check out an excerpt from Lashieka's essay here on MochaManual.com
And take some time this summer, before its over, to feed your soul.
It's one of my new priorities.
In motherhood,
Kimberly
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