Snakes In The Grass They Gone Bite Your Ass

Growing up, I always heard the "Seasoned" folks say you always want to keep your grass low because you never know if a snake is near. I didn't care why because I was a kid, and that was not my obligation to worry about the height of anyone else grass, let alone what was in it. I was trying to live my best life and see how I could get another $3.00 out of my parents so I could buy myself a bag of chips, pickles, juice, and some penny candy from the candy store in the neighborhood. Ironically although I'm not a person who looked for snakes growing up, I always dream about them when something is getting ready to happen to me or someone I know. I didn't have my first encounter with a snake until a few years ago while working in the middle of nowhere. The snake found its way up a flight of stairs and decided outside my office door was the place to be. I opened the door to run to the kitchen, and my soul almost left my body. The son of a biscuit eater was just "Electric Sliding" across the bottom of my door. I can't even fathom how long it was out there. I do know; I yelled, "Oh Shit," slammed the door, and called my boss. She was in disbelief, and she made her way up the stairs and saw the snake and said,' Oh Shit". The next thing you know, she grabbed a shovel to split the head, and baby, I about passed out. I tell you, ain't no way my black ass was about to split the head on not a damn thing because I barely can kill a spider. I was traumatized and knew I had to leave "Suddenly.", but how would I go without crossing the snake's potential half-dead self? I was faced with a fight or flee mindset, and I fled the scene. I jumped over that snake like Sonic and Tails and flew down those stairs. What if I waited for someone else to remove the snake before I left because half of the battle was one but not completely done? I had to figure out the rest.

Sightings in the Area

Many of us have snakes right around us, and we have no clue because we don't expect to have to look for them. The snakes are people we call friends, sis, bro, or hell, sometimes bae. They lay low for a time, slithering around us, waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack. The skin they shed leaves a trail behind, and the bite marks you hear about from others let you know they are in the vicinity. Know if they have bitten someone before they will do it again. The more dangerous they are, the worst their bite impacts you. The poison they inhibit is something that antivenom won't be able to help with, only God. Once they cross you, it puts you in a state of shock, and you either freeze up or get into survival mode. It's crucial that once you identify them that you keep your head on a swivel because if you are not careful, you will find yourself splitting their wig. Remember, the lower the grass, the easier it is to find their ass.

I challenge you to identify the snakes in your life, and if you are having trouble, ask God to show you the ones that have left some skin behind. Then, once you identify them, decide if you want to risk being bit or Get the Hell Away from them.

1. Are there snakes in your grass?

2. Do you need to keep your head on a swivel?

3. Can you handle the bite, or will your recovery take longer?

Eviction Notice

Last week I was looking through some saved documents and came across my outline from my book. I glanced over it, and when I saw the word eviction, it made me pause. I paused because I was able to reflect on the grace God has given me. The crazy thing is I had a conversation with my cousin a few days later about the lowest times of my life. We talked about my evictions and one in particular, which was the same-day eviction due to an incident that had nothing to do with me. I came home from work and had nowhere to lay my head by the night's end. If I told you how often I'd experienced this, you would look at me like, "I Know You Lying," but I'm not. Evictions didn't happen because I couldn't afford the rent but because of the actions of others. When I say your girl didn't have control over my money, I didn't at all. I was under the impression that rent was taken care of, not knowing eviction proceedings were already in place. Do you know how embarrassing it is to have a Sherriff put a red notice on the door stating you had to be out of there and, if not, your belongings would not be redeemable? Evictions were the story of my life for almost nine years. The day I evicted the person from my life who was causing the evictions was when I began to thrive. The things I lost I got back double. The floodgates of blessings were opened, but what if I had continued going through life this way?

Some of us have things or people that need to be removed from our lives because they are blocking us from where we are going. We don't remove them because we are unsure of the outcome, fearful, or need direction on where to start. If you can plan the eviction, you will have more control over the outcome and don't have to worry about someone telling you the clock is ticking. You become the clock and take control of whatever needs to be removed, but you have to "Start."

Starting the process will look different for everyone. It may mean walking away from a career you used to love, but now it's impacting your peace. It may look like leaving the man/woman you have been with forever who won't commit. It may also look like ending a friendship with someone you are no longer aligned with, and it's OK. The process may not be easy, and you may feel like quitting; however, if you don't go through it, you will never get to thrive. The thing you need to remove will only become more complicated to remove. So, Sis/Bro get to planning, packing, and serving that eviction notice.

I challenge you to look whatever that thing is in the face and say, in the words of Martin, "You Ain't Gotta Go Home, But You Gotta Get the Hell Up Out Of Here."

1. What are some things you need to evict out of your life?

2. What's holding you back?

3. Do you need some direction on how to start?

YOU GOT ME TWISTED!

Have you ever been in a situation when someone has said something sideways, and you said to yourself or hell to them, "You Got Me Twisted?" Have your kids said something high-key out of line, and you said who are you talking to, "You Got Me Twisted?" Have an employer had an insane request, and you said," Ya'll Got Me Twisted?" I say this more now than I ever have. I don't know if it's because I have a teenager, more people have unreasonable expectations of me, or my tolerance is low, but your girl says this weekly. You might be asking yourself what it means to be "Twisted?"

Let me break it down; it has nothing to do with the song by Keith Sweat, where he whines, talking about the chick that got him "Twisted ." In the Urban Dictionary, Twisted means mixed up or confused (Urban Dictionary.com, 2022). In most houses, depending on where you are from, it means, You got me all the way messed up." The feeling of, "Who in the hell do you think you are talking to, or who do you think I am? Twisted not only means the things mentioned, but it can also mean other things.

Last year I purchased a necklace for a photo shoot, and on the day of the shoot, it gave me the blues and the symphony, lol because it was not in the same state as when I purchased it. I like to have my shit in order; however, it didn't quite work that way. I went to pull it out of the bag, and it was all the way "Twisted." I didn't have the time or energy to figure it out. Honestly, how it got in that state, I don't know, but either I was careless, or the cashier bagged it like that. Assumptions didn't even matter at that time because I had no time for the foolery. I knew I would circle back around to it once time permitted it. A few weeks passed by before I decided to fix it. I worked hard and diligently, and finally, it was straight. It was super challenging to get it untwisted, but I wasn't willing to give it up and discard it because it was worth having. I instantly went into the mind frame of how relationships, friendships, jobs, and family issues are confronted. I would be lying to say in my 38 years on earth; I didn't have somebody twisted because I have. Imagine if I didn't apply the same actions I had while dealing with that necklace and straightening things out. I would not have some of the friends I have today. I wouldn't be able to verbalize how I feel to my employer when I disagree with their actions. My family would think they could say whatever to me and not have a conversation about it. In reality, getting something "Twisted" is far easier than getting it "Untwisted. "Depending on the complexity of how something is "Twisted," it may take more work to fix it. You have to be willing to work to straighten things out. The choice is always there, and if you figure it's not worth it and choose not to fix it, remember you have to live with that decision, and hopefully, you don't get anyone else "Twisted, or worse they don't get you "Twisted."

"A Pretzel Was Shaped Into The Way That It Is Because Somebody Got It Twisted"

C Nicole

Ask yourself these questions?

1. Who have you gotten "Twisted" lately and need to straighten it out?

2. What are some of the proper ways you can avoid this happening again?

3. Are you willing to take the risk to straighten things out?

Twisted. 2022. Urban Dictionary.com. Retrieved. February 13, 2022, from https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=twisted