by Aja Dorsey Jackson A few years ago, Amerie had a popular song called "One Thing". In this song, she sings about one thing that her man does that has her pretty much strung out on him. Amerie never quite reveals what that "one thing" is for her, but today I want to reveal what that one thing is that my husband does that gets me every time. He cooks. It may not seem … [Read more...]
Shacking Up: Is Living Together Wrong, Necessary, or Both?
by Aja Dorsey Jackson My husband and I lived together before we got married. It was not a test of our relationship as much as it was a practical financial decision for both of us. A few months after we got engaged, his roommate moved out. At the same time I had temporarily moved back home and as much as I love my mother, was more than ready to move back out. It made more … [Read more...]
Somebody's Sleeping in My Bed
by Aja Dorsey Jackson My son didn't sleep through the night until he was about nine months old. Before that, my husband and I spent many weary nights taking turns waking up every couple of hours to put him back to sleep. These nights produced a lot of tears (on my son's part and mine) and often ended with him asleep in our bed, something that I once said that I would never … [Read more...]
Dating with Children: Do you Introduce Kids to a New Mate?
by Aja Dorsey Jackson Every year or so, a friend of mine has a new girlfriend. I have little interest in his personal dating habits, but what does concern me is the fact that he has a very young child. Shortly into each relationship he, the new woman, and his child are always one happy family. New woman has basically moved into his house. New woman is babysitting his child … [Read more...]
Do You Forgive Without an Apology?
by Aja Dorsey Jackson The other night I shared with my husband what I thought to be good news about a small freelance writing opportunity that I was given. The gig was nothing major, but given the fact that I have recently taken a pay cut at work and the fact that I am working toward eventually being able to do this for a living, I was still fairly excited. As opposed to … [Read more...]
Are You a Bragger?
by Aja Dorsey Jackson Once upon a time, back in the early eighties, I told one of my friends that I was "richer" than her and I could tell by my house and my toys. I was only around four or five at the time, but I remember being promptly reprimanded and told that I was bragging and that I shouldn't do it anymore. At some point between then and now, probably around the … [Read more...]
New Years Resolution
by Aja Dorsey Jackson In 2010, I only resolve to do one thing: get away to somewhere warm with my husband and no kids. As a rule, I do not make New Year's resolutions. The goals that I have, like be more organized, eat healthier, exercise more and get to work on time are things that I work at every day. It just works better for me to try to get a little better every … [Read more...]
To Be or Not To Be (Married)?
by Aja Dorsey Jackson Yesterday morning the Ricky Smiley morning show posed a question to listeners about marriage and whether it made sense to get married or whether it was better to just avoid all of the "drama" and shack up. At some point I had to stop listening because the conversation started to make me feel a little sad about the state of marriage in the Black … [Read more...]
Does The New Duggar Baby Make 19 Kids And Too Many?
by Aja Dorsey Jackson Ahhh the Duggars. No other reality television family has the ability to make me both adore them and simultaneously think that they are 21 flavors of crazy. In case you don't watch the show, Duggar parents Jim Bob and Michelle gave birth last week to a baby girl 3 months early, bringing their kid count up to 19. They are part of a religion called … [Read more...]
Keep Your Sex Life Out Of Your Facebook Status
by Aja Dorsey Jackson I have more than a couple Facebook friends who consistently post what I believe to be extremely inappropriate status updates about their relationships. Sometimes they are publicly cursing out their partner on their wall, other times they are sending a very public/private message to him or her about what they just did in bed, or what they want to do … [Read more...]
Work Rules to Take Home
by Aja Dorsey Jackson As most of us are preparing to have the next day or couple of days off for the Thanksgiving holiday, I'd like to let you in on this frequent workplace fantasy that I have. Sometimes when I'm sitting in my office, and often before I even get to work, I imagine that I hit the lottery and quit my job. On a decent work day, I very nicely let my boss know … [Read more...]
The Attraction Factor
Aja Dorsey Jackson My husband came home from playing flag football on Sunday missing a tooth. Not a side tooth, but a top row, front and center, can't-bite-an-apple-without-it tooth. I can't explain what I felt when I saw it, but I was somewhere between concerned, horrified, and really mad that he was about to have to spend money getting a tooth fixed. Our interaction as he … [Read more...]
A Girl Like Me
by Aja Dorsey Jackson After watching the Rihanna interview on Friday I went online to see what the masses had to say, as I usually do when I see something happen in the media. Although I was not surprised, it was still troubling to see the large number of Black women commenting online almost with contempt for the pop star. Despite the fact that we've all seen the pictures, … [Read more...]
I'm Not Your Superwoman
by Aja Dorsey Jackson Last week both of the kids and I became sick with the flu. They were sick first, but of course by the time they were back to running and playing, I felt like I had been hit by a truck and was fighting the worst version of the flu I've ever experienced. By Tuesday I had a temperature of 104, but I still felt like it was extremely important that I get the … [Read more...]
Just Looking?
by Aja Dorsey Jackson I had a few reservations about bringing this up given the fact that the topic is not quite family friendly. Yet although it's an issue that publicly is rarely discussed or tiptoed around like a dirty little secret, in every online community that I am a part of, whether it be a mommy's discussion board or a fitness community, inevitably the conversation … [Read more...]