Elite Breeze Allu./Building Construction Comp.

Years ago, in the early days of being a single mom, I had a night where I couldn’t sleep. I woke and fretted and dealt with an anxiousness I never felt before. It came in waves and felt like my heart was too heavy for my chest and then in the same moment like I couldn’t catch my breath.

Looking back I can see that girl, that me, that person so afraid. I can see her trying and her pushing through and her dealing. I can see her fear and I can feel her panic. I can see her grasp at truths and try to find footing.

I can see her courage.

She didn’t back then. She was in survival. If you told her she was courageous she’d tell you she had no choice but to keep being strong.

She might have seemed aloof to you. It wasn’t that she wasn’t trying to not be a fraud. It was because it was taking everything in her to keep moving.

I’ve learned to love her. To love her bravery when she didn’t know if it was there. To be proud of her strength that she dismissed. To see how hard she tried.

And I can see that in those days that the future was hard to see. Anxiousness and worry can do that to a heart. It can paint tomorrow with swirls of gray and blurs out the possibilities of what can be. It can be hard to believe.

I’m just so proud of the me that chose to takes step forward even when the steps didn’t seem to make me move. But they did. Small steps add up and up and up. And sometimes they go backward and then they go forward and then back and forward but if you keep going they will add up.

All the breaths, in and out.
All the tears.
All the moments.
All the anxious times.
All the faith filled times
All the trying.

I share about that me, that one sitting in her bedroom years ago as the clock showed 2:48 am, the one wondering when morning would happen, because I know there are so many who can see their story in it.

Maybe it’s you.

Maybe it’s you, right now, trying to catch your breath.
Maybe you are anxious.
Maybe you feel alone.
Maybe you are alone.
Maybe you are dealing with hard stuff.
Maybe you are awake and wanting sleep.
Maybe you need a friend.

I see you.

Friend, sister, sweet soul, I see you.

Light always overcomes darkness.

Remember that. On those restless, sleepless nights I’d wait and watch for the light to peek through the shades and with that hope would creep into my weary bones.

There is hope.
There is opportunity.
There is joy.
There is tomorrow.
There is light.

So keep on keeping on. Listen to your friends. Have grace for their stories. Show up. And be really proud of what you do. Dealing with a life that doesn’t go like we planned isn’t the easiest.

Keep breathing.
Keep sharing your real.

Friend, you are needed and wonderful.

And you will get through.

Light always wins.

-Rachel

To the Mom

This is for you. Yeah, you, the mom who keeps going.

You might think it’s no big deal. You might not even realize the power in your ability to keep going. But I see you. I know that strength. I know the nights of no sleep met with mornings of tired. I understand the give and the take. I know the heartbreak and the love.

And I know that sometimes it’s so easy to dismiss that we keep going.

You keep going.

That family of yours knows that you keep going. That is such a gift. A life gift. A hard thing.

It’s hard to keep going when the cards all crash in. But you keep going.

It’s challenging to keep going when relationships fail. But you keep going.

It’s scary to keep going when you don’t have answers. But you keep going.

It’s lonely to keep going when everyone else seems to have it together. But you keep going.

It’s frustrating to keep going when things keep messing up. But you keep going.

It’s tiring to keep going when you get no sleep. But you keep going.

It’s humbling to keep going when you feel overwhelmed. But you keep going.

It’s simple to dismiss it.

But you keep going.

On good days. You keep going.

On bad days. You keep going.

On great days. You keep going.

On irritating days. You keep going.

On normal days. You keep going.

On throw-in-the-towel days. You keep going.

On take a rest and chill days. You keep going.

On exhilarating days. You keep going.

On so-so days. You keep going.

On first-time days. You keep going.

On last-time days. You keep going.

On vacation days. You keep going.

On work days. You keep going.

On invest in your heart days. You keep going.

On never-get-a-break days. You keep going.

On just-a-mom days. You keep going.

You keep going.

You may get to the end of this day and look at your day and wonder what on earth did I accomplish today? But you are only looking at today. You are missing all the days that got you to this day. All the days where you kept on going. All the days when you didn’t know if you would make it through. All those days. So maybe your to-do list has a hundred things checked off or maybe it has none – but it does have this – you keep going.

Sweet, sweet sister.

The weight of the world will try to tell you that you need to do more, be more, change more, love more, give more, show-up more, but sister, sometimes the world misses the most powerful part of you.

You keep going.

So hold your head high. Be proud of you. Love your days. All of them.

You know what is amazing? This story, this life, this adventure – you are such a beautiful part of it. For so many. For your friends, your children, your family.

Because you keep going.

~Rachel

Even this Moment.

Good thing is still Happening

Facts About People Living In Face Me I face You Houses.

1. It’s sometimes called Face Me I slap you, due to the incessant fights daily.
If you don’t fight, someone will fight you.
You must fight.

2. You can never go hungry unless you don’t know your way around.
Enter the kitchen at the backyard and start whining who’s cooking.
Drop small gist about another neighbor

3. There’s always that man who will claim he has been living in the house before the house was even built.

They are always proud of the years they have lived there.
They know everyone and when they were given birth to. (Ancestor Tenant)

4. There will be this group of girls living together. They are always at home during the day except at night.

Mothers always warn their children not to enter their room.

5. There must be an old woman who settles a fight. Mama of the house.
She is always sitting outside monitoring what is happening on the street.
In most cases, she's the landlady.
They always have nicknames .

6. There’s always a landlord wannabe whom everyone hates.

He acts like the landlord and he’s always like “Don’t pour waste there” “Pay your nepa bill” and "We will lock this gate by 7pm" bla bla.
You will think his name is in the Landlord's will but he's a tenant too.

8. There must be a regular debtor who doesn’t pay his bills on time, he pays January bills by April.
Always coming up with excuses.
"My mama just die", the same thing he said last year.

9. One rich tenant must be in the house, he will keep buying things his landlord can never afford.

He owes small rent but he’s using 4 ACs, 2 deep freezers, 17 flatscreen TVs, and 54 generators.

11 There’s always that Single Aunty who is neat.
She will be between 35 to 40 years, speaks good English, and doesn’t like to mingle with other women in the house.

(Children call her Aunty). It is the day you look for her trouble you will know that werey wa nle.

13. Every Face Me I face you comes with a fight merchant who can figh.

This is called Cutting Wall.

From Down to Up straight..

The Price for this right now is N160,000

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Base on what you Choose.