“Hey, Ma!”

Do you enjoy it when your parents/family visit you?!

I am blessed to have a mother who wants to travel to see me, visit with me, and just be around me. I have a mother who engages in activities and conversations with me (and my brothers) that maintain and strengthen our relationship. Not everyone can say that, and I am grateful.

Last week, my mother visited me in Georgia! She flew down from Pennsylvania on Saturday evening and stayed an entire week! My mom was blessed to be able to retire in July this year. She has nothing but a lot of free time on her hands now haha. Not going to lie, when she told me she was coming to visit and wanted to stay for a week, my social anxiety activated and I began to think “what are we going to do the entire time?” “how will I ‘entertain her for a whole week?” “should I cancel all of my social plans and just have it be me and her?” Don’t act like you don’t ever have similar questions!

So, how did that week go??? It went well and I had such a great time with my mother! I need to get out of my head when it comes to visits like these; they’re cherished for sure. Love you, mom!

Here is what we did that week:

Saturday
Mom landed late that Saturday so we drove back to Athens that night. She didn’t realize how far away the Atlanta airport is from Athens lol. Our airport in Pittsburgh is only 45 minutes from New Castle, while the Atlanta airport is 90 minutes from Athens. That’s a 3-hour round trip to pick someone up from the airport! When we got back to my place, my mom surprised me with such a lovely and thoughtful gift! She and some of my family members went to a pottery class a few weeks prior, and she saw a piece that she knew I would love and appreciate, and she was right! I love and try to collect different pieces of elephants with their trunks raised. It symbolizes good luck, and it’s also something my paternal grandmother collected. (When my Grandma Honey passed away, I got a tattoo of an elephant with its trunk raised in remembrance of her).

Sunday
We woke up early on Sunday and went to church. Pastor preached a great word on being undefeated, Romans 8:28. Afterwards, we went to brunch at a local restaurant called The Place. The food was delish! We had bottomless mimosas lol so the vibe and conversation was fun and flowing! Prior to mom getting into town, I purchased us tickets to a show of a play called “Athens Vignettes” at a local theatre called Town and Gown (I’ve never been to this theatre before!) “Playwright Roshaunda Breeden has taken interviews with Athens community members and turned them into three scenes that express views from the African American community in Athens about the Baldwin Hall burial site, the loss of Linnen Town and the relationship (or lack thereof) between the African American segment of town and the UGA gown.” I really enjoyed and appreciated that play; I have been in Athens for 9 years and attended UGA Law and didn’t know a lot of the history of the African American community in Athens smh. In between the scenes, they opened the floor up to the audience for questions, comments, insight. I love (I’m using the word love a lot but it’s the best way I know to describe how I felt!) intimate gatherings and events like that. You get to learn, connect with, and meet new people without even trying.

After the play we went to the grocery store to grab some food for the week. Mom wanted to cook steaks one day and I was craving spaghetti lol. And it should be obvious what we did after that — NAPPED! Lol, those mimosas took us out! We ended our Sunday night by getting mom caught up on a show called Our Kind of People.

Monday
I already made the decision that I was going to work from home in the mornings this week and then take the afternoons off. That afternoon mom cooked the steaks and we also had roasted sweet potatoes and sauteed zucchini and squash. Fire! My cousin Dayna and her boyfriend were having a gender reveal that evening as well. We attended the gender reveal via Zoom and I got to see some of my cousins. They’re having a baby boy! Watched some more Netflix and of course drank some wine. It’s awesome having a mother who loves wine as much as you do! Lol, 5:01pm, “do you want a glass of wine?” “yes, please!”

Tuesday
Tuesday morning I went to the jail and the office for a little while. My mom likes to get a good long walk in in the mornings. I was worried that if I had to work my mom would get bored lol, but she was alright! Tuesday was one of the main reasons why mom was visiting me that week — we got tickets to go to an Elevation Worship concert!! If you enjoy uplifting, encouraging, and real gospel/worship music, you need to check out Elevation Worship! That group is so anointed and they have a vibe that is very energetic and interactive. It was like a legit concert! The church’s pastor, Steve Furtick, also gave a word that was very moving. I haven’t been to a Christian worship experience like that in years! It was awesome to be able to do that with my mom. She enjoyed it. I enjoyed it. It was a great night! After we got back into Athens, it was late so I introduced her to one of the best fast-food restaurants in the South: Cook Out! Their burgers and milkshakes are to die for!

Wednesday
Slept in a little bit. One thing about Athens is that it will always offer somewhere for you to drink and socialize. It also has a lot of breweries (I wrote about some of those breweries here). The breweries usually have a local and intimate feel, and some like to host entertainment or live music. So, I knew I wanted to take mom to one while she was here. Not only does she love wine just as much as I do, but she also likes a good beer! That afternoon we went to a local Jamaican restaurant called Rashe’s Cuisine. They only offer to-go at the moment, so we grabbed our food and took it to the brewery. Luckily they allow outside food! We went to Athentic Brewing Company, and ate our food, which was delicious! Every last Wednesday of the month, Athentic has a comedy show of local comedians. We stayed for the show and the comedians were dressed in their Halloween costumes. We stayed until about 9pm! Lol, I didn’t realize how long we’ve been there.

Thursday
Thursday was the only day I had court that week. I went to court that morning and got back later that afternoon. I made the spaghetti and invited my friend Latrecia over for dinner. The 3 of us sat and chatted and sipped wine. It was nice for my mom to meet some of my friends while here. The village I began to build since I’ve been living here. A lot of my family and closest friends do not live in Georgia. I had to build a village and a circle of friends that I can trust, grow with, and learn from. I’m glad I was able to do that and she got to witness that connection!

Friday
I took the entire day of Friday off. Slept in (which is not something I get to do often!). This was mom’s last full day here! Once I got up and got moving, I invited my friend Ashley over so she can meet my mom. The 3 of us ordered pizza from a local pizza place called Ted’s Most Best. Love their pizza! I always order the Big Island pizza, yes pineapple goes on pizza! We ended the night watching a movie on Netflix called Otherhood. I liked the movie! Funny and lighthearted.

Saturday
Mom’s flight was later on that afternoon. She didn’t want me to drive 3 hours roundtrip, so she booked a ride with the airport shuttle that we have here. That morning we went to the thrift store, because who doesn’t like a good thrift store?! We found the exact items that we went in there to get, which was awesome! I usually love to browse in thrift stores and find some great work blouses. That thrift store trip was a success! We then swung by the barbershop so that I could get a haircut. It wasn’t too too busy for a Saturday morning. We were there for about an hour or so, and then we came home and I made us a late breakfast! Mom always cooks for me, but it’s nice to know I have the basic skills to make something for her and cater to her for once 🙂

Everything about that week reads: “love” “local” “food” “drinks” and “friends.” But the one underlying theme that was apparent without having to say it was “quality time.” Thanks, mom for taking time out to visit me and I truly enjoyed your company! You got to see how your baby girl has been living and some of the things she likes to do in her city. Thanks for being my biggest cheerleader and always in my corner! I’ll be seeing you again in just a few weeks!

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.” — Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, NKJV.

Moni Jay, Off the Record