The beginning. The intro.

"Look out world. Here comes Jonette!" Growing up, this is what my Nana would tell me to say out loud when I would wake up. This was and is how I was encouraged to greet the world each and every day. Saying this would give the planet a moment to catch her breath before my feet hit the floor. It was the calm before the storm; the eye of the hurricane; the brief commercial break before the winner was announced on American Idol; the last chance everyone else would be allowed to goof off before my kind of party entered the room. This was how I was raised. I was taught never to settle; to constantly keep reaching for my dreams; to be the good everyone else saw in the world; to make a difference; to make it better; to "make 'em laugh"; to be myself & to never be sorry. "Don't say 'you're sorry'," Nana would say. "You're not a sorry person!" Followed by a sip of her tea & a sweet pinch on my rear, Nana would have gotten her 'sugar' from me, her one & only Peanut Butter. She's the queen of my life I attempt to copy. Maybe she takes a bite of an apple and then goes over to kiss her sweet Johnny mine. That's my Granddaddy & that's what she calls him. I learned how to spell 'Oldsmobile' whilst sitting in his lap in the front seat of their car. I fell in love with space and God and learned how to use my imagination because of him. He is the smartest & most gentle man I know. Their kids, my mother & uncle, are a hilarious set. The love those two show for their parents is unmatched. Their generosity & thoughtfulness is something I strive for daily. My father, a man with an enormous amount of intimidation factors is the sweetest teddy bear of them all. He has the biggest heart & would literally find a way to lasso Pluto for me if I said I felt sorry for it & thought it needed a new home. My dad's mom, who's probably playing Bridge in Heaven right now, lived with such a calm sense of style & love for her son. These are some of my immediate family; the ones who have the biggest chunks of my heart at least. And I guess I felt it necessary to gush about these people. Well, now you have a better idea of why I am the way I am. I've been through a lot that has transformed me into the newest version of myself, but no doubt this group had some hands in the mix, too. 

Some of the above & a few other friends have been saying for years that I should start a blog. Well, I finally sat down with enough of an attention span to do it. This is kind of one of those streams of consciousness landing pads. I couldn't tell you what's gonna be up in this thing the next time, it's gonna be an interesting ride. I hope to one day know what I should be doing with my life. I'm searching. Always searching. So.. I guess we'll figure it out together. I appreciate your um.. patience with the lil trip I'm going on. I'm at a place in my life where I feel like there are 15 different paths I could possibly travel, but the map I have is faded & has too many coffee stains to be readable. Alas, here I am, kind of pacing, posing for attention every so often, just wondering & waiting for life to pull me strongly enough down one of those paths. Life doesn't make sense at times. This is something I have to keep reminding myself of: I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO KNOW EVERYTHING nor what happens next. I don't have the TV show series booklet that give us a summary of each season. My life didn't come with that one. It did however come with the 'How to create an awkward moment anywhere & with anyone' booklet, the 'How to choose every wrong way to do something before you choose the right one' booklet, the 'Wanna go for all the jobs you never ultimately wanted? Here's how!' series & the 'You're never gonna poach an egg. Stop trying.' pamphlet. My life's not THAT sad & bland. No. Surely not. It's not. It's not? It's snot.

All for now. *dramatic wink*
Come & get me.