The Musings of a Latte Queen: Narratives of Everyday Life

My Daddy was the greatest man who ever lived. I can close my eyes and still see his creamy cafe au lait face. He had a broad smile, curly hair, and a big bushy mustache! My daddy was a tower, standing at 6'4" and being about 250 or so. Daddy is the one who regaled me with stories of my deceased mother and encourage me to write. He is the one who told me there was something God had for me to do. Daddy was the one who called me Taye. My love for him is eternal and everlasting. He left this earth, but never my heart, ten years ago. I'm 45 years old and I still miss my daddy's hugs. Daddy was ambitious and motivated. I believe I have that streak of determination from him. Everyone who knew him tells me I inherited his gift of oratory and should be a minister like he was. Daddy was amazing. I miss him and his secret stash of butterscotch and fondly remember his blessings of sesame buns when I was a young college student. The older I get, the more I miss him, the ...

This is the end of a very long week. The first day the students arrived at SPROG was also the day my husband and children were up in Michigan to bury his last uncle. My husband is now an elder male in the family. It was hard to not be there with them. Saddness hit me really hard when my son in Japan let me know his long-awaited leave home would not take place. His flight from Japan to Seattle got cancelled. This kids rubs two nickles to make a dime so spending over $2000 to get home was just too much to bear. We discovered Sykpe and the joys of video talking. He decided to take advantage of Japan and went hiking in the mountains. The elder son called me with some potential news. He is still discovering his plan and purpose in life. They never stop being our children even in their twenties. All the hard work and planning for the summer program has given me joy to see it come together. I am just playing a small part in closing the achievement gap and keeping a great group of kid...

Someone said a long time ago that our children never stop being our children even when they leave home. This statement is profoundly true. Some cultures will not allow a girl-woman to leave home until it is for marriage. It is not uncommon for many families to have multiple generations living in the same household, nurturing and flourishing together. Then there is this overly individualistic Western culture that thrives on telling kids they do not need their parents and rushes them through childhood. Is there a balance? A time to let a child develop into their own person, yet, keep the family unit intact until they are truly read to "leave and cleave" as some ministers are known to utter? I ponder this as I think about my son in Japan who could not come home due to a cancelled flight. His departure after high school for the Great Lakes Naval Training Center came too soon for my soul. Summer 2007 marks the time my family dynamic really shifted. Living in the city of my bi...

I was horrified to learn that Dr. George Tiller , Wichita, Kansas, was gunned down in his Reformation Lutheran Church, during Sunday morning services yesterday. The reason for his killing? He was a women's health advocate and he did perform abortions. The entire "pro-life" moment has always been marked with violence and misguided individuals or misinformed individuals. Here in St. Louis, outside Planned Parenthood, there is always a line of white people with signs of aborted fetuses. Whenever I drive past there with my kids in the car, I hope they do not look. These people scream and holler at the already emotionally drained women who enter for an abortion. They do not act in love or concern for the mother. One of the things that has always bothered me is that these same, mostly white, mostly Christian fundamentalist, Republican voting people care very little for the child once he or she is born. They are the same ones that cry against so-called welfare queen, liv...