Day one…Introduce Yourself

I’m gonna fly off the cuff here…don’t want to censor myself. I have a feeling this is about to become an adventure.

Who am I?

I am a wife and mother. I love my family dearly….even when I need my “me time.”   They are my rocks.  My husband is everything to me and my kids are my lifeline.  I can be completely silly with them for hours…they make me smile… when so much that’s going on in the world today doesn’t.

I’m the mom you hear screaming the loudest at any kids event…even for the kids that aren’t mine.

RUN THAT BALL BABY!!!…YA’LL BETTER CLAP FOR THOSE CHILDREN OUT THERE!!! …yeah, that’s me.  I love kids and animals…what can I say?

I am a daddy’s girl.  My father is my first love. In the 47 years I have been on this earth, he has been the one man who I’ve always been able to count on without question…without judgment.  There has never been a day in my life that, I did not feel his love.  He spoiled me rotten with attention(and things).  If you saw my daddy, you better believe…I was three steps behind him.  I’d call him at work just to “see what he was doing” and wait for  him to come home  so I could fall asleep on his lap.  I can still remember being a little girl, lying my head against his chest and falling asleep to the beat of his heart.

I am a sister to many brothers.  Growing up an only girl was priceless…it was like being allowed in a special “boys club.” My brothers were very popular in our area so our home became known as the “McGruff House”(because all the kids hung out there) and the “Kool-Aid” house (because all the kids loved the way my mom made kool-aid.)  Since I have so many male siblings,  our home was consumed with young men of all ages (my oldest brother and youngest are 22 years apart.) I didn’t grow up with a lot of questions that females have about the male psyche because, I was entrenched in it from birth.  I was one of the fellas….my brothers rock!

I am spoiled and I know it…but, I’m not selfish.

I am an aunt to many nieces and nephews…they call me “T-Ali” or “Teedy.” I’ve lost count…the last time I checked it was somewhere near 17.

I am a nurse.  I’ve learned to find the humor in the profession. It keep me from going insane.

I am a NOLA girl.  I love my city and always will.  She is in my blood.

I am bayoucreole.  Both of my parents are Creole and I love my heritage…it is rich and who I am.

I am young, gifted and black (well, not so young anymore)…I love my heritage…it is rich and who I am.

When I hear someone call me Ali, I know that’s someone who knows me from back in the day…

When I hear someone call me Al, I know that’s someone I’ve worked with…

But, I’ll always be…Ali Boo.  That was my mother’s pet name for me.

My government name is Alison and I love my name.   My great-grandfather named me Alison after the chick in Peyton Place…I love that too…Peyton Place was quite scandalous for that time.

I am a Katrina Survivor.

A  post-traumatic stress disorder survivor.

A survivor.