The Gratitude Challenge: Day One

 

Gwen Pierce, Founder of The Chocolate Voice
Gwen Pierce, Founder of The Chocolate Voice

I’ve been nominated to do the Gratitude Challenge and list three things daily, that I’m grateful for, for 7 days.  I am clearly up for the challenge, here goes. 

Day one:  

(1] I was always very comfortable in my chocolate skin. For that level of comfort, I owe the sweetest, kindest people who share my DNA, my parents, Walter and Lula. These two remarkable people raised my siblings and I, to embrace our rich heritage.

I was fortunate to grow up surrounded by incredible people. My father, is a barber and a business owner. Together, he and my mother owned a record /clothing store where, every kind of people imaginable came through— activists, athletes, doctors, educators, lawyers, preachers and even club-goers. I learned so much by watching both of my down-to-earth parents show any and everybody who walked through the doors with genuine kindness and respect. They taught me that everybody has a story, and people are innately good. That’s something they instilled in me and something that I’m forever grateful for.

I can honestly say that if these two were not my parents, I’d choose them as life-long friends.

(2) Today, September first, I celebrate another year of life. I’m truly grateful for maturity. You see for many years, I was known as a people pleaser.  Not long ago I would have cringed at the thought of attending an event alone. I would end up taking along someone, and doing what was best for them, and not for me.  Now that I am very grown, if it is a place that I truly want to go to, I grab my purse, hop in the car and away I go.  With maturity I’ve learned to cast aside my fear of not being accepted. I have also come to clearly understand, that you can’t please everyone. But what you can do, is please yourself. 

(3) I’m truly blessed to have built a wonderful life with my husband of 31 years.  When my mom first met my future husband she said, “I’ve never seen a young man so caring and focused.”

Although we’re as different as night and day, (I’m a right brain, and he’s a left) we work very well together. Like most marriages, it has its ups and downs, but one thing is constant, he is truly a family man.  He’s an amazing husband and father, who sets a wonderful example for his children. I couldn’t have chosen a better father for my children, and for that reason I’m truly grateful. In the words of Salt ‘N’ Pepa, What a man, what a man, what a man, what a mighty good man!

 

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