Million Dollar Smile

I make it look easy today, but it was a SLOG.

Don’t forget I was the WORST statistic. Poor, uneducated, undiagnosed learning disability, depression, PLUS I was on every form of assistance I could find. Moving from a welfare mom to the Top Woman in Finance (TWICE I won that award) was not a jolly little path lined in cheering crowds, that I skipped along whilst rose pedals dropped off my shoulders.

I cried. Ohhh Lord I cried. I cried over so many things. I cried that my kid grew 4 inches and his shoes from two weeks earlier no longer fit. ?I cried over people who stole from me, broke my heart, fired shots over my head, told me I was worthless, groped me, tried to rape me, gave me the least they could so they could have more, and those who would drag my name in the mud because it was a game of fun to hurt others. ?

I learned, Ohhh Lord I learned. I learned never give a 4-year-old boy that loved to dig in the dirt jeans without KNOWING they will wear out the knees in a week. NO NEW JEANS until your dirt digging era is over. I learned to be comfortable with ripped jeans, I learned to pack early and be ahead of the pack. I learned to save and to not spend. I learned it was harder to be poor than to have wealth. I learned to send myself to school and to be an eternal student. I learned my body and my mind had value, and my thoughts belonged to me. My ideas could fetch a price and I should take care who I shared those ideas with.

I laughed. Ohhh Lord I laughed. I laughed when I paid off my student loans, I laughed when I got married, I laughed when I made money, got a car that could go 0-60 in 4 seconds and drive my friends around. I laughed at the surprises of houses of furnishings me and friends gave away, and how fun it was to celebrate the journey of those I love and how big our butts got. I laughed when I got to REALLY KNEW how much stupid stuff I worried about that was pretty much useless garbage to worry about.

I gave. Ohhh Lord I gave. I gave gifts, time, even the clothes in my closet. But, I gave everything I had for the chance to keep my kid out of a coffin. To get him out of the jail system, out of a psyche ward, and on a track that had hope. I prayed he saw the grand old age of 30. I gave to all my other mothers, who will never hold their child gain, never have dinner, never hug them because of drugs and violence. I gave every tear. I gave, because I have.

I have. Ohhh Lord do I HAVE. I have YOU. I have me, and I have this day. That is all I could possible own. Is the moment that we HAVE right now, a teensy spark of dust in the cosmos of time is still a moment that cannot be recovered. I have the insight to know that THIS moment, and how we use it, creates a future for everyone around us. I have the option to turn off and turn away, play and hug those near and dear, sow seeds or to bring in the crop. ?I HAVE and you HAVE and we HAVE.

So, when you see the smiles, fancy cars, the parties, don’t forget I was once a statistic that was pretty hard to look at, or believe in.

This year I will be taking on 12 single parent statistics JUST LIKE ME. To build a new paradigm.

That the statistic isn’t the prediction.

I am planning to put on a million-dollar smile.

One six figure business owner at a time.?