1 ~ Get the Day Started

Asha had barely been holding onto the routine of her days, feeling as if she had no choice but to keep moving forward in the sludge of life. She was exhausted beyond belief with no relief in sight and if she hadn’t centered herself each morning she was sure she was going to explode on whoever decided she was a mat to be walked all over.

Today was no different - she got up as usual, bargaining a few ‘5 more minutes’ with herself before she had to really get up. When she did - ever committed to the routine she’d painstakingly created over the last year - she ground her coffee beans with her pestle and mortar and put her coffee on to percolate while she did a quick warmup, one of her low impact cardios, a yoga stretch, and a 5 minute meditation for black women, all courtesy of YouTube.

After a quick shower and getting dressed she rushed out her door to get into the car that wouldn’t start. No matter how hard she pumped the gas pedal, rubbed the dashboard, and begged, her baby just wouldn’t start and she already knew from the last time this had happened that she couldn’t afford the repairs. Just as she went to grab her things and her emergency bus pass for occasions just like these, said bus flew right by her broken down car and the bus stop a few feet away. Frustrated with the way the day was already stacked against her, she took a few calming breaths to recenter herself.

It took 30 minutes, but the next bus finally made an appearance, and after 2 transfers and 3 very uncomfortably unwarranted conversations, she got to work just over an hour later than her scheduled start time. Her supervisor was on her ass the second she walked through the doors despite Asha following protocol and notifying the manager on duty why she was late. Already too exhausted to defend herself from the power tripping without blowing up, Asha just took the verbal assault and got to her work station as fast as possible.