SherriMLittleton

 Today is April 16, 2024, and it is my Mother's Birthday.   Over the last 4 years after my mom's untimely death, I've gone through a number of changes including receiving years of therapy. But the one thing I've continued doing since I was a kid, was to celebrate our birthdays in big ways.  My mother doted on me as my only consistent parent, and I looked up to her as my SHE-ro. As an only child of a divorced parent, I was used to birthday parties and gifts. The older I got the more I received. But as an adult, I like taking myself on solo trips and just enjoy... being!  Usually for my mom's birthday, I would celebrate with her at a restaurant, movie and shopping. That was our thing. Even after her death, I would continue doing that on her day, however this year I felt my mother telling me I could rest. Of course, I took the day off to spend time at the cemetery, but I didn't go and get a massage or majorly shop. Also, I remembered I had food at home (in my mom...

      For the first time since my mother's death 4 years ago, I made a decision to cook at home and not participate in a Friendsgiving this year. I have some of the loveliest people in my inner circle that have truly been there for me, but I needed to cook and recreate my mother's dishes. So that is what I did. I made a complete Thanksgiving dinner, like I've done many times before, but just for me. Although that may seem lonely for some, I delighted in prepping the same way my mother would for the holidays. I got up early in the morning, started on the pie and chopped the veggies, marinated the meat and made the sides. I was humming the entire time and loved it. But something different was that I added a bit of my grandmother's recipe into the dressing. I used celery, not celery salt but actually celery. Anyone that knows me understands how much I usually cannot stand the taste of celery. It was to the point that my ...

      As an only child, my mother would often make meals from scratch to suit both of our taste. However, as a kid, I was a picky eater. It was really difficult for me to try new things because I liked certain dishes more than others and wouldn't agree to anything else. As most kids, I loved mac n cheese. But specifically, I loved my mom's baked mac n cheese, to the point I wouldn't dare eat anyone else's.  I remember as a kid, everyone at our Baptist church and my mom's government job requested my mom's baked mac n cheese for potluck dinners. I refused to eat my friends' mothers box mac n cheese and only would trust a few family members recipes including my grandma and moms' sisters to also make it right. It even got to a point where my father remarried and tried to guilt me into saying his new wife mac n cheese was better than my mother's dish. I refused because even though I was a kid I kne...

     I was recently thinking of a recipe for meal prep this upcoming week. My mother always made her meatloaf a certain way. Ingredients included Seasoned salt, black pepper, eggs, ground meat, ketchup, bell peppers and onions. So of course, as my parent, she taught me to cook her way but as the years went by, I would add my own ingredients as well. For instance, crumbled crackers or corn flakes acted as a binder while a teaspoon of sugar and salsa was the additional flavor to my mixture.       The same can go for the way I was raised to go through private schools, college and to get a full-time job to settle for and then retire. But no lol, I switched it up a bit. Because my mother put me in private schools most of my youth while financing it completely by herself, I was exposed to people with different options in life. Rich kids, poor kids, middle class kids, White and Black kids all had different views and religions than mine. Everyon...

    On this Mother's Day, I am currently healing from oral surgery. It is the first time that I ever had any type of surgery and had to be put under. This experience brought out my anxiety in the worst way to the point that when I was fading out, I cried out for my Mom. Yes, I cried out for my mom in spirit because every since I was a child, anytime when I was afraid I cried out to God and for my mom. My mom, my protector and now my healing hands. As I begin my journey of healing, I needed that reminder that I am not alone. This may be a brief post but it is a reminder, God always has me and my Mom is always there!!! Happy Mother's Day, Now and Forever.  My Mother's Only Child Sherri M. Littleton 

     Mamma always said that she raised me to be different, not to ever settle but excel! In doing so, she prepared me for compliments, success and jealousy. Not jealousy of me having things but resentment that I was Loved, encouraged and protected by her! It took me to reach my adult years to truly understand what she meant. Many people that I know were also raised by divorced parents, single parents and many had both parents still in the house. However only a handful of us were raised to know the sky had no limits and therefore we were always encouraged to chase our dreams. My mother raised me to go for what I wanted no matter how long it took or how scary the road was to get there. Try, try harder, start over and then Achieve!!!  It took me years to understand that others settling in Life isn't my problem because I was raised to know that I don't have to!   Thank you mama. Sherri M Littleton  My Mother's Only Child 

     I can be a lot. I know this very well but a lot was expected of me. My mom and her siblings, especially her older brother Robert (who is now in Heaven with her), always discussed how she was one of the smartest kids in their school growing up. I laughed at the stories my uncle  would tell about how my mom was so smart that she was able to skip grades and be in class with him. He joked about how she would have to stand on the chair to see over the class as a teacher's assistant (my mom was short and so am I).  She was always at the top of her class and therefore good grades was expected of me. However,  as my mom would say, I waited to college to actually enjoy school and value my education. Many many degrees later, she was right. On her birthday, April 16th, I will have a bowl of her favorite ice cream and indulge in one of her favorite meals. I will also celebrate the years that she was alive, remember the goals that she had and the sacrifices that sh...