My Summer Rewind: An Ode to Self-Care 13-“What You Tryna Do”

I attended Dad 2.0, a conference for writers, bloggers, influencers, and media personalities who are fathers, in Washington DC in February. It was a surreal experience to introduce myself to people I’d known for years but never met in person. I felt validated as several dads told me they enjoyed my work and introduce myself […]

My Summer Rewind: An Ode to Self-Care 12-“Only U”

I went on my first “date” six weeks after Timile passed away. There was no love connection nor was it the purpose. I moved back to New York in late November 2012 and had little time or bandwidth to grieve. Most of my time and energy was focused on what would become seven court appearances […]

The Eulogy I Couldn’t Give My Uncle

December 6, 2017. Today would have been my Uncle Jeffrey’s 55th birthday. Unfortunately, God called him home three months ago and my familial dynamic has been very different. I knew I was speaking at my uncle’s memorial service; I wasn’t quite sure what I’d say. He was a street guy, so there were many things […]

Letter To Timile Pt. 2

We’re Winny and Kevin from The Wonder Years…

A Year After Confronting My Past

June 28, 2016, 9:47 am. A year ago at this time I was just arriving home from Virginia. After waking up at 4 am for a full day’s work, I took an hour nap, packed up Cydney, and left New York on the 26th at around 1:30 am. Just about every trip to the […]

Mother’s Day as a Single Father

The second Sunday of May is a very interesting day. While we should give roses to those who are living, Mother’s Day is a day in which we all give appreciation to the women who gave us life, as well as those we have created a life with. Mother’s Day has taken on a very […]

Compassion and Emotional Hypertrophy

I am a little reluctant to write about this. Nonetheless, it’s part of the journey. The trip to Virginia was a pivotal point in not just my life, but Cydney’s as well. Cydney left feeling a little closer to her mother, yet it also made it apparent that there is a very large part of […]

Seen It All

I joked with a friend of mine saying that after returning from Virginia “I feel like the realest nigga on the planet.” While such a statement may be hyperbole, a part of me does feel as if I am cut from a very rare cloth. I may not have visited Timile’s actual grave like I […]

They Reminisce Over You Pt. 2

I went to bed this morning around 1:30 am. I woke up at 4:30 am and started my day and work week like many others. I got a call from my former roommate, Devin, informing me that our good friend Donnell passed away this morning from a heart attack. I hate these phone calls. Immediately […]

My Experience Confronting My Demons

I took some time off because my schedule tends to get pretty busy around Father’s Day. Once that passed, I was mentally and spiritually preparing myself for my return to Virginia for the first time in over three years. In spite of declaring that I would never return, I always knew deep down that I […]