What’s a song lyric that has stuck with you forever? My husband and I were driving back to our hotel after flying from California to South Carolina. The day before, we had received the call that our son had been in a devastating vehicle accident. On July 10, he suffered a final cardiac arrest and passed away. The radio was playing. I can’t remember the song, only that it was about seeing someone again someday. It made me so angry that I reached over and turned it off. In that moment, I wondered if I would ever be able to simply listen to music again.

What were your parents doing at your age? They were living their lives but also, when asked and needed, they were assisting their children through the consequences of poor decisions. They were also enjoying and loving their grand children and helping out with them when needed. Their love, support, and wisdom, nurtures a sense of family and their cheers for everyone’s success resonates through generations. I am deeply grateful for it all.

Daily writing prompt What advice would you give to your teenage self? View all responses Today, I feel like answering this question as it relates to how I feel in this moment, which is happy. I am happy because I know that I am resilient and loved beyond my wildest dreams, and that there is so much more life in store for me. I am one hundred percent ready for it. I am even embracing that tinge of fear that springs up as a result of knowing that I do not know what I do not know when it comes to the future, or even the present for that matter.

Daily writing prompt If you had the power to change one law, what would it be and why? View all responses Convicted felons could not run for President because, well, you know and below is a poem. England in 1819 By Percy Bysshe Shelley An old, mad, blind, despised, and dying King; Princes, the dregs of their dull race, who flow Through public scorn,—mud from a muddy spring; Rulers who neither see nor feel nor know, But leechlike to their fainting country cling Till they drop, blind in blood, without a blow.

Daily writing prompt Write about your dream home. View all responses I remembered writing about my home, so I thought this prompt was a repeat. Turns out, the piece that I had in mind wasn't for this particular prompt at all but it's befitting anyway so here's the link to it. I hope you check it out and leave a comment. 🙂

First, I do my happy dance. It’s a hyped rock left to right with a shoulders bounce. My smile is wide and deepens the dimple in my left cheek. My eyebrows shoot up like there is gossip in the air and my eyes are shining, 💯 Tyra Next Top Model “I know I did that” energy. Next, I yell, “BABE!” at my husband. He won't hear me because he‘s in his office minding his own business. So, I run down the hall from my office to his office, wrap my arms around him from the back and plant a bunch of smooches on the top of his head.

In honor of Black History Month, here’s a list of Black-owned businesses you may want to support. And remember, Black history is every day, so consider patronizing these incredible companies all year long. Much of this list is courtesy of @RolandMartin, but I added a few and personally checked the links, created a Black-owned business favorites folder, and saved them there. I’ll be supporting these brands in my own household and gifting their products to friends and family throughout the year. If you have any favorites that aren’t on this list, drop the links in the comments!

What are your thoughts on the concept of living a very long life? I have fewer years ahead of me than behind me. Since turning 50 almost seven years ago, I’ve thought about death daily. After my mother’s passing in 2024, that awareness became more profound. Grief pushed me to question why we experience it the way we do, especially since we all know none of us are getting out of this alive. Over the years since turning 50, I’ve moved from the unimaginability of no longer existing to a place of anxiety-free curiosity.

In what ways do you communicate online? I communicate online with intention. I credit the internet and early AOL chatrooms with setting me on the path to becoming a stronger written communicator, more curious, and a deeper thinker overall. Engaging online mirrored how I experience people in real life. I was never the popular one in those rooms. I would find another lonely soul, start a conversation, and slowly build a presence. That presence, sooner or later, always seemed to invite conflict. One particular time, I offered an unflattering critique of a poem that many people were head over heels over.

I will just pic one and that is staying committed to an exercise regiment. I have to start one now and I will. To get me started, 30 Minutes 3 days a week should be doable. Wish me luck.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I’m really looking forward to getting back to Prompt Responses after the first of the year. As excited as I am about a new year, I also know it’s really just a continuation of the last one—365 more days where we get to choose change, choose kindness, and choose love. Those choices start with us, and they show up in who we support and what we’re willing to stand behind. The future is still ours to shape. Let’s make loving choices this year!💕

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YouTube video by Honey, WTF! Podcast

Hey everyone. Just wanted to stop by. My blog is still on my list of things to do and I will be back soon with more Prompt Responses. I've been busy phone banking for Prop 50 here in California and also teaming up with my husband for another episode of our Honey WTF! Podcast. I'd love it if you all would check out the latest episode, subscribe and drop a comment if you are so inclined.

No Kings will be massive, powerful, and meaningful - but it won’t be the end of our work. Join movement leaders and fellow local activists after the big day to come together, celebrate what we accompl...

Daily writing prompt Tell us about a time when you felt out of place. View all responses I love this question because I always feel a little out of place—and I’ve made my peace with it. At most social events, I can feel an invisibility cloak sliding over me. I people-watch, sip a drink, and drift into my own thoughts like…

Daily writing prompt Your life without a computer: what does it look like? View all responses It looks like an electric typewriter, trying to figure out margin settings, and lots and lots of whiteout.It looks like a commute to work.It looks like sitting in an office and rebuilding office etiquette and enduring microaggressions in person.It looks getting my news from newspapers again.

Daily writing prompt What's your #1 priority tomorrow? View all responses Happy Monday dear readers. I'm back. I decided to take a short break and let go of all of the have-to-dos in my life, those that are imposed upon me and those that I had imposed upon myself. I allowed myself to get up each morning without one single thought of what I had to do.

Write about your most epic baking or cooking fail. Another food prompt, I see. Well, my biggest recent fail wasn’t entirely my fault—I was conned by a recipe for cauliflower mash that promised to be a good substitute for mashed potatoes. Please hear me and hear me good: cauliflower does not replace potatoes. I don’t care how much parmesan cheese you throw in.

I’ve been experimenting with different platforms and have decided to give Substack a try. My plan there is to take some of the short prompt responses I’ve shared here and flesh them out into fuller, essay-style pieces — the kind of writing I hope will one day move toward publication. Poetry will remain a companion to my work, woven in as it has always been.

What are your favorite types of foods? Today my favorite type of food is beans. A local nursery I go to carry several varieties of Rancho Gordo beans. I usually get the small black and red beans that a soak, slow cook, then freeze to pull out to make chili from time to time. The other day, I went to the nursery in search of a new houseplant and found a beautiful one with silvery-purple leaves that reminded me of my mom, so I scooped it up.

How often do you walk or run? One memory of my mom that always stays with me is the care and commitment she gave to my youngest brother, who has been blind since the age of sixteen after a drunk driver hit his vehicle in 1997 and nearly took his life. This memory comes from the last year she lived in Stockton.

This woman is a super hero! Park your judgement at the door, enter, sit and learn as she teaches untethered to any political party. Features image by Noel Vasquez / Getty Images file

What's your favorite word? Today my favorite word is empathy. It names the emotion we feel when something tragic happens to another living being in a way that feels undeserved. Empathy is tied to what we know of the person, it cannot be forced or contrived. When we hear of harm done to someone we don’t know, we may still feel for their suffering.

Charlie Kirk believed that he was rational in his assessment of gun violence in this country. So, in his honor, may we take a moment of rational thought concerning his death and the media coverage …

I’m really enjoying the second season of With Love, Meghan. There’s just something about this series that lifts my spirits and makes me want to do special things for my family and friends. I still think about that simple cake she made last season—since I’m on PTO for the next two weeks, I think I’ll finally make it! This new season has been such a treat.

Daily writing prompt What personality trait in people raises a red flag with you? View all responses To respond to this prompt, I clicked over to ChatGPT and asked, “Is there a finite number of human personality types?” I had always suspected there was. That suspicion came mainly from my younger years when I job-hopped from office to office and kept running into the same personality types—just in different skins.

This truly warmed my heart! Winners!

Name the professional athletes you respect the most and why. I’ve never been much of a sports fan. I don’t follow players, and I don’t have a team I’m loyal to. In fact, sports fans have always puzzled me. I can’t quite grasp how people become so personally invested in something they’re not actually part of—though, if I’m honest, I’ve had moments when I understood.

Daily writing prompt Write about a random act of kindness you've done for someone. View all responses It’s a busy weekend with family but I didn’t want to mess up my posting streak so I am revisiting another older post. For my new subscribers I hope you enjoy this one and feel free to comment. For those who may recall this one, here’s a second chance to comment.🫶🏾

Hi all, I have my prompt response in draft mode. Today got away from me so I will be posting it soon. In the meantime, I decided to repost one of my vss365’s

Daily writing prompt Are you holding a grudge? About? View all responses One thing I know for sure is that holding a grudge is not part of my ministry. It takes too much energy and memory to carry that. I’m barely holding on to my memory as it is, and I refuse to waste it on things that don’t serve me.

Daily writing prompt Share a story about the furthest you’ve ever traveled from home. View all responses I’ve only traveled within the United States. As an adult, I’ve been to Atlanta, Chicago, North Carolina, Kansas, Texas, Virginia, Washington DC, Washington State, Arizona, and Hawaii. When my mom moved us from Alabama to the Bay Area in the 70s, our trips never went further than the cities along the I-880 corridor.

Daily writing prompt What does your ideal home look like? View all responses It looks just like the one I live in now. It’s a single-story home with enough space for my husband and me to each have our own office, plus a guest room. The open floor plan gives us the feeling of having plenty of breathable space. We’ve furnished it without clutter, which I notice in many homes.

Daily writing prompt What brings a tear of joy to your eye? View all responses The very first time I experienced tears of joy was at 14, when I went with a friend and her mom to Prince’s 1999 concert at the Oakland Coliseum. Vanity 6 and The Time opened the show. It was my very first concert, and our seats were so far away that everyone on stage looked tiny as they danced across it.

Why do you blog? I started this blog back in 2014, though at first it was more of a whisper than a voice—I posted once that year, about domestic violence, and then not again until 2016 with a few career-related pieces. For years it was inconsistent and without real direction. Then, in December 2024, I wrote a short piece about my mother, and something shifted.

Interview someone — a friend, another blogger, your mother, the mailman — and write a post based on their responses. I should have peeked ahead so I would see this coming and maybe had time to pick someone. I want to interview someone who identifies as MAGA. I don’t want to get into a debate about issues. I want to better understand the thought process behind the alignment.

How are you feeling right now? Right now? At this exact minute? I feel like I want to crawl back into bed, but I already hit snooze too many times. I’ve run out of tricks to buy myself more rest—like not turning on my camera for a meeting I scheduled that starts in fifteen minutes. It’s 6:15 a.m. I have to get up, brush my teeth, make coffee, and do the whole lights-camera-action thing.

Daily writing prompt What daily habit do you do that improves your quality of life? View all responses There have been multiple variations of this question so I'm just going to pull up one of my previous posts from June for your reading pleasure.

Daily writing prompt What was the last thing you searched for online? Why were you looking for it? View all responses If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know I add a poem to each post. Each day I go in search of one that pairs with whatever I’m writing. I started doing it simply because I love poetry and want others to love it too.