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I wouldn’t consider myself superstitious, but I grew up in a household that was superstitious because I had a grandma from a rural area. She grew up, let’s see…in the 1920s in Jamaica in an area called Rock River.  When you live in a rural area in Jamaica, you rely on folk tales and stories a lot. And of course she would have been growing up in a poor area that didn’t have a lot for entertainment or even news and education. So you know it was a different world for her. When she came to live with us, she had so many superstitions that she would regularly “warn” us about. So let me share a few.

There’s the one about not opening an umbrella indoors, because I think that one means that you either will get bad luck, or you’ll never get married. I don’t know if that’s true.

The next one is don’t throw water outside at night because you’re going to upset the ghosts that are out there. I don’t know. Do they feel it if you’re not living 🤔? I’m not trying to make fun of her. I just didn’t understand most of it.

What else?

She also used to say don’t turn your clothes outside in if you’ve already put them on inside out.

Someone can explain that to me if you’re from Jamaica or the Caribbean, maybe even West Africa. I think that’s where a lot of these superstitions originated from, so I would love to hear if you had any similar superstitions growing up or if you’ve ever heard of a lot of them.

Alas, this was a good opportunity to think of my childhood and remember some of the things grandma would say. She’s no longer with us, but when I think of Jamaican superstitions, I think of her fondly.

Miss you Grandma! 😘

Oh my, there are so many things that I would tell my teenage self. I wouldn’t want to tell teenage Corey anything too specific (lest my actions create an alternate timeline. I know, I watch too many movies about time travel! 😉). With that in mind, I’ll approach this scenario as if I’m a familiar stranger that strikes up a minimally creepy conversation. Let the therapy session begin!

Let’s share the highlights:

“Do you know that you’re beautiful inside and out? I know that you’re surrounded by people that you think are more outgoing or prettier or more… whatever. Just know that you are enough.”

“Trust in your gut, it will be your guide throughout life. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Life is about a series of decisions, and we all make the best decisions that we can with the information that we have. Life as an adult isn’t easy, and it’s far from perfect, but you can be proud of yourself for who you are now and who you will be.”

I would leave it here for now, but this was a great chance to think about my past and where it has brought me today. I’m choosing to be grateful for my life, the ups and downs, all of it. If I were allowed to tell the past Corey anything, I’d let her know that with all the internal turmoil and needless comparison to others, just as you are (Spoiler Alert) you’ve already met your future husband ☺️.

When I thought of this topic, I thought that maybe I should find an extraordinary instance where there was some grand gesture. But then I stopped to think, and the truth is that I feel loved every day. In fact, one of my most frequent prayers is “Lord, thank you for the love in my life”.

Prepare for corny because here it comes: my husband makes me feel loved every single day. I’m not trying to show off or anything, but when I think of love, I think of him. He’s a kind and loving person who chose me as his wife. 😃 I hope that I show him love as much as he shows it to me, however the truth is that I have work to do in that regard (more on that therapy topic later). My love language is acts of service. So anything that someone does for me makes me feel special, loved and appreciated. It can be as simple as filling the car with gas.

Enough with the sentimental stuff!

Anyway, the point is that I’m blessed, and I’m working on finding ways to show my loved ones how much they mean to me.

Dear reader (using my Bridgerton voice 😁), I hope that you can find one positive instance where you’ve felt loved. If you can’t, there’s always today or tomorrow! If we try to make others feel loved, it is my fervent belief that it will come back to us.