As I glide back and forth in the pool, lap after lap, I relax into the rhythm of the water against my skin. The water is just right—neither too hot nor too cold—and I marvel at the ease of my strokes. Beneath me, the cobalt blue lines stand out against the white pool floor, steady...
Today I dove twelve feet down to the bottom of the pool to retrieve a ten-pound brick. I’m required to be able to do this, without goggles, as part of my training to become a swim instructor. Many times before, I made the attempt unsuccessfully and resurfaced early without the brick. Moving through the blurry,...
A foundation to healing and self-understanding For those of us who have lived between cultures, the quiet act of naming our truth can be a radical reclamation. On a picture-perfect weekend, I reconnected with my roots at the May 2025 Calabash International Literary Festival held at Treasure Beach on Jamaica’s south shore. Against a backdrop...
What does it mean to Enjoy the Water Armed with the Knowledge of How to Keep yourself safe? On April 12th, I was at the Y pool to assist swim instructors as they taught water safety. I stood riveted when a group of six three- to five-year-old children trouped into the pool area with their...
I was honored to participate in the Montgomery County, Maryland, Caribbean American Advisory Group’s Community Conversation on March 25, 2025. The panel focused on Immigration, Houses of Worship, and Stress Management, and I appreciated the opportunity to engage in such an important discussion. Highlights of my panel discussion included: Signs of stress: Changes in appetite...
Last Saturday for Black History Month, and I was at Politics and Prose to celebrate the launch of Marita Golden’s new book: How to Become a Black Writer: Creating & Honoring Black Stories That Matter. Brimming with the wisdom of the ages, Marita Golden did not disappoint. She sat alongside fellow literary activist, E. Ethelbert Miller and responded...
What’s that one song that draws you out of yourself, gets you to start singing or bust a move? Last Saturday, I danced and shouted with a group of thirty-five women and men of all ages, sizes, and physical adroitness at a YMCA Zumba class in the DMV area where mid-December through mid-March, the days...
I see your true Courage Shining Through Courage is often associated with big actions involving integrity, strength, and perseverance. For others, courage represents physical bravery, moral fortitude, or emotional resilience. Courage can also involve finally telling your Caribbean mom – who believes that you are too strong and too accomplished to need therapy – that...
One Caribbean friend packed her bag and headed home on November 3rd. That day, faced with packing her suitcases for her months-long stay with family, my friend appreciated having an extra hour of daylight-saving time, but more important, she rejoiced knowing that she would be out of town, and in the tropics when the days would...
“Like watermarks on paper, aquatics can leave ineffaceable impressions on cultures, on memories, and on one’s sense of place and identity.” ~ Kevin Dawson in Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture in the African Diaspora Trauma healing is a process. I was only ten years old when I accompanied my father and uncle to Hellshire Beach, a...
