"Thanks"giving 2021

Well, it’s been a year filled with ups, downs, all arounds and definitely some exhaustion. With that said, there is still a lot to be thankful for.  

I am thankful for the family I was born into and the one I created. My history and heritage has shaped who I am. I am my ancestors' wildest dreams.  

I am thankful for all the years I had with my big brother. I miss him every day.  

I am thankful for the friends who been in my life for a season and the ones who are like family. Thanks for being along the journey with me.  

I am thankful for a career that challenges and fulfills me. Every day it gives me an opportunity to stretch and grow while investing in the development of young people.  

I am thankful for my colleagues and students - past and present. I have learned so much from you all.  

I am thankful for the experiences I have had in my life that have contributed to a full life.  I am thankful for all the times I have stepped out of my comfort zone or just went for it. So many lessons learned through those journeys.  

I am thankful for Novembers and each birthday I have on this earth.  

I am thankful for my favorite foods that brings me a lot of comfort and always make me feel like I’m home with family - mac-n-cheese, MD steamed crabs, air popped popcorn, sweet potato pie (just to name a few). I am also thankful for my morning English Breakfast tea that gets each day started in just the right way.  

I am thankful for downtime that allows me to rest, relax and recharge.  

I am thankful for books that entertain and educate. I am thankful for my tv shows and movies that allow me to immerse myself in the stories of others.  

I am thankful for connection and community, including my SoMi Jack and Jill mothers, the Alpha Kappa Alpha sisterhood and for my PDO Spring '21 line sisters. 

May each day ahead be filled with love, laughter, friendship, family, healing and peace. Here’s to a blessed holiday season and to all the unexpected joys that lay ahead. 

Since I was 3, We've Been 4

Since I was three years old, we've always been a quartet of Anyaso siblings led by our big brother Vincent. There is an eight year difference between my oldest brother and my baby brother. I hold the third spot on our squad (3rd oldest or 2nd youngest depending on how you see it). Vincent's leadership of our squad was by no means traditional. No, he led by showing us what not to do. 

• Don't ride your bike so fast down the alley hill that you scare your siblings. 
  
• Don't drive the family Volvo station wagon into your neighbor's (aka mother's colleague) cinderblock wall when you're 14 years old. 
• Don't be held accountable so much by your high school that your aunt could have driven cross country with all the miles she put on her car driving to your school (Thanks SSFS for letting him graduate)
• Don't have the best freshman college year socially, but consider doing the work as optional. 

However, on second thought, perhaps Vincent wasn't just showing us what not to do, but how to do it in your own way in your own time. 

• Sometimes you have to enjoy being a kid and the rush of flying down the bike on your bike
• When driving, it's important to slow down before you take that turn and being able to drive stick shift will come in handy. 
• When you push, you learn how far you can take it and who believes in you no matter what. 
• Not everyone is ready to go to college immediately after high school. Perhaps a career in the U.S. Marine Corps is a better education so that when you are ready, you will not only finish college, but go to law school and be the valedictory speaker at your law school graduation. 

To say the last three years have been hard is an understatement. My six days sitting with him in the hospital in 2018, included talking to him, playing music, reading the paper to him, and hoping that while he could not communicate with me, perhaps he could still hear me and maybe he’d just wake up. I spent so many days going and praying. It’s been over three years since I’ve heard his voice, his laugh, or his "what’s happening’? What’s crackin’.

There is so much that’s happened in my life the past three years that he doesn’t even know, but of which he would be so proud. We often talked about the ways in which we were alike, such as our committment to our family, investment in our careers or even the way we stay in touch with people over the years and across continents. Now to be honest, we were more different than we were alike, but as we got older it’s the similarities that seem to resonate more. As someone who liked to do things on his own terms and in his own way, it only seems fitting that today, Veteran's Day, was his last day on this earth; a day that meant a lot to him. He loved and served his country, his Marine Corps, and, most of all, his family. I miss my big brother. While he’s no longer with us on this earth, I know he and my Aunt Shelly are watching over us. Rest in Peace and in Power, GySgt Vincent Chiedum Anyaso, JD. Semper Fidelis!