LOUISIFORNIAN.

Good morning guys! This is just a quick post to shout out my Nana's 75TH BIRTHDAY today!!!!

Many people don't know that I come from a deep rooted background of New Orleanians on one side (Dad), but the other half of my family resides on the west coast, spread throughout California and some have migrated over to New York. Maybe one day I'll break down how my parent's got to finding each other being that they lived on opposite ends of the country, the story is actually quite interesting haha. Anywho, I felt an impulse to post how dearly I love my nana. She's my last living grandparent, and one who has spoken into me my entire life along with my late grandmother who was also my absolute best friend. Growing up on the total opposite side of the country from half of your entire family S U C K S do you hear me!?! You feel like you miss out on everything. Birthday parties, holidays, first boyfriends or girlfriends; you just always feel like you should be there and you can't do anything about it. What made it easier as we grew up was that my nana and aunts/uncles were actively traveling back and forth to visit us as we would them, which all goes back to having loyalty and ensuring you stay connected with your loved ones.

Having grandparents that speak wisdom and life lessons into you is an absolute blessing. We live in a selfish generation where kids and even grown folks simply don't value family time the way people used to before all of the distractions came about (i.e. technology technology TECHNOLOGY). That has never been me, and spending quality time with my family is so important to maintaining my sanity; partially bc i'm pretty sure I have a phobia of losing someone unexpectedly, but more so because of the fact YOU NEVER KNOW when your last conversation with someone will be, so make every one count. After losing both of my grandparents on my dad's side unexpectedly only two months apart from each other after SEVENTEEN years of growing up with them in my life constantly, I made it a goal to always call around the family and catch up, and to stay in the present with them and eliminate all distractions during that time. You just never know.

Love your grandparents! ASK THEM QUESTIONS! They have lived through an entire life before you, and before your parents. They are literally free tools of wisdom, life lessons, and history; and 99.999% of them would be more than happy to share their lives with their grandbabies.

Happy birthday Nana,

I love you with all of my heart! Family is Forever. I'll leave this video of when I popped up on her during my Mardi Gras break in February of this year. Be back soon. ❤Dom

#happybirthday #fresno #california #family #familyisforever