By Desiree Future

Recently, I went to the 80s R& B New Edition concert as a late birthday gift. With my birthday being Dec 27, things are extremely pricey because of the holidays, so what better way than to just wait for the “normal” prices to drop.

Days prior to the concert, I bought lipstick to test out. As not having worn any other than gloss since the pandemic, I had none. I wore it to work and my office coworkers had a lot to say about it. They thought I had a date, but that was wishful thinking.

I can’t remember the last time I really got dressed up to go out. Other than dinner with my girlfriends, which is almost monthly. On the night of the concert, I dressed in a nice pair of skinny black jeans, with a multi-colored top that swung at my knee-high boots. Yes, a fifty-year-old curvy size 14 woman can pull off skinny jeans, you just have to be classy about it.

I sang every New Edition, Bobby Brown, Ralph Tresvant, Johnny Gill & Bell, Biv, Devoe song from the past forty years. As they showed the original videos from each song on the gigantic screens, I saw my old bedroom in my childhood home flash across my mind. I vividly remembered having Bobby Brown’s picture taped to my green wall, since in my head, he was my husband. I tore that picture out of Black Beat magazine. The intermission clips had me dancing in my seat as I remembered all the songs by different the artists from my adolescent days. I had an amazing time.

It exhausted me afterwards because my body does not bounce back like it used to. Having fun was awesome. But the next day, it was back to my regular schedule, working a full-time job, working on this blog and completing my novel. I know it’s a lot, but I am not a person who sits on the sofa and watches life pass me by.

With the many tasks, jammed backed schedules and everything else we do, we must take time to sing and dance if you will. Turn off the phone, tv, computer and any other electronic devices and just be. Be that kid laughing and giggling on the day at the fair or in the yard playing by themselves or with friends.

God gave us this wonderful life to build a wonderful life. That means sometimes we have to put up the Do Not Disturb sign so we can do things that make us happy.

If that means saving up for months for that trip to Fiji, then so be it. Putting off buying your new living room lounge chair your cat destroyed so you can enjoy at night at the theater, then so be it. Becoming a vegetarian for a month so you can save money for those front row concert tickets. Then so be it. Whatever makes your heart and mouth sing like you’re on top of the Himalaya’s, do it. You can’t be good to anyone else until you’re first good to yourself.