Mother's Day was filled with ups and downs. On the positive side I spoke to my son and he is doing well, I had a long conversation with my older daughter, which is always nice, and also with my sister.

On the negative side, on Saturday night right around dinner time, my husband's daughter came over to tell him that she is quitting her job and going back to school. You may be asking yourself, "What's wrong with that?", well I'll tell you.

She is a 30 year old single mother, she has a good job with the county where she gets full benefits, she's been there for 5 years and makes $28,000 a year which is really good for this area for someone who only has a high school diploma.

Also she doesn't want to go to college, she wants to go to a technical school for Dental Assisting.

Her plan is to go to school during the day and wait tables a few nights a week to pay her bills.

So when she told my husband he had a fit, because he thinks she's crazy to give up her job security. She has never been a waitress before and he doesn't think that she will be able to pay her bills and guess who she is going to come to when she needs money?

Plus Dental Assistants start at around $23,000, which is a lot less than she is making now, and she already has trouble paying her bills and is always borrowing money from my husband.

How stupid do you have to be to tell a person who is sick of giving you money, that you are quitting a perfectly good job because you are tired of it, when he is going to be jobless, and not by choice in a few weeks?

He was so mad that he couldn't even talk, so finally on Sunday afternoon, I told him that I couldn't stand it any more, that his not speaking to any one was annoying me and that he shouldn't be taking it out on me. Unfortunately I said a few more things and then we had a big fight and he stormed out of the house.

I wanted to call and ask his daughter if the next time she wants to tell him something, could she please do it on a Monday so it doesn't ruin my weekend.

But on Sunday night my husband and I made up so now I am just keeping my mouth shut.

Des'ree You Gotta Be

Listen as your day unfolds
Challenge what the future holds
Try and keep your head up to the sky
Lovers, they may cause you tears
Go ahead release your fears
Stand up and be counted
Don't be ashamed to cry

You gotta be
You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold
You gotta be wiser, you gotta be hard
You gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm
You gotta stay together
All I know, all I know, love will save the day

Herald what your mother said
Readin' the books your father read
Try to solve the puzzles in your own sweet time
Some may have more cash than you
Others take a different view
My oh my heh, hey

You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold
You gotta be wiser, you gotta be hard
You gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm
You gotta stay together
All I know, all I know, love will save the day

Don't ask no questions, it goes on without you
Leaving you behind if you can't stand the pace
The world keeps on spinning
You can't stop it, if you try to
This time it's danger staring you in the face
Oh oh oh Remember

Listen as your day unfolds
Challenge what the future holds
Try and keep your head up to the sky
Lovers, they may cause you tears
Go ahead release your fears
My oh my heh, hey, hey

You gotta be
You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold
You gotta be wiser, you gotta be hard
You gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm
You gotta stay together
All I know, all I know, love will save the day
You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold
You gotta be wiser, you gotta be hard
You gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm
You gotta stay together
All I know, all I know, love will save the day


Setting uplifting songs of love and modern-city life to a mid-tempo, hook-laden blend of reggae, calypso, rap, and British pop, Des'ree has risen to the upper echelon of British R&B. Although she failed to reach an American audience with her 1992 duet with Terence Trent D'Arby, "Delicate," despite it being a Top Ten hit in the U.K., she made up for it with her second album, I Ain't Movin', two years later. The album's single, "You Gotta Be," became the most played video on VH1, spent 80 weeks on the Billboard charts, and was included on a highly visible tribute album for Diana, Princess of Wales. Driven by the song's success, I Ain't Movin' sold more than 16 million copies. Des'ree kept the momentum going with an American tour in 1995 with Seal and performed at the first-ever secular concert at the Vatican. Her songs appeared in Spike Lee's film Clockers in 1995 and Baz Luhrmann's remake of Romeo and Juliet the following year. She released her third album, Supernatural, in 1998. Born in a small village south of London to parents from the Caribbean, Des'ree was influenced by both cultures. After living in Barbados from the age of 11 until she was 14, she began writing poetry upon her return to England.

When my sister and I were young we sometimes played dolls together, other times we fought and squabbled. The relationship was difficult because she was my mother’s obvious favorite, which left me resenting her.

As we got older we fought more and more until we just stopped speaking to each other at all, which was very uncomfortable since we shared a small bedroom in a tiny apartment.

She was spoiled, she always had to have her own way and she had a bad temper. Although I was four years older then her, I was afraid of her, she was crazy, there was no telling what she might do. She never got in trouble with our mother for anything, so she felt that she could do whatever she wanted. She had a machete hanging up next to her bed, and I was afraid that she might use it. She never did though, the worst she ever did was throw a can of corn at me which gave me a black eye, and once she threw a cast iron skillet at me, I tried to get out of the way so it just nicked me, I still have the scar on my hip though.

She and I were total opposites, I had dark curly hair and olive skin, she had light straight hair, and very light skin. I was quiet, reserved and shy, she was loud, outgoing and sociable. I enjoyed being alone and reading, she always had to have friends over and never sat still.

After I got married and moved out of the house, we started to develop a friendly relationship. And now that I live in another state, our relationship is the best that it has ever been.

After all she put me through when we were young, she turned out to be a wonderful sister. I know that she is there for me, whenever I need her. I don’t talk to her as much as I would like to. She is a typical soccer mom and is always busy driving someone somewhere, plus she works and goes to school at night.

I want to try and go visit her this summer in PA, I miss her.

Are you close to your siblings?

May 8, 1886
Atlanta pharmacist John Styth Pemberton invented the flavor syrup for Coca-Cola.





This poster was released in the mid 80s and prompted a total recall of all posters because of the picture painted in ice-cubes at bottom right corner. The graphic artist who designed the picture put this in as a joke, and it went through unnoticed until someone spotted it on the back of a Coke truck. The artist lost his job and was sued, and all promotional material had to be recalled and destroyed. Very rare and hard to get hold of — released in South Australia in mid '80s.