Luxury

Welcoming you into a sanctuary of love, growth, and quiet moments

Dec 23, 2024

One of my favorite poems by the late, legendary Nikki Giovanni is from Love Poems called “Luxury.” It is such a luxury to be alive. I am so grateful that it’s a new season, and we are outgrowing the experiences that shaped 2024. I am still reflecting on another year of reaching deeper into my 30s. With this decade, I am calling for more sweetness and stillness, even though, life becomes demanding as we get older. Sometimes the comfort that makes the most sense is God, but His voice amid chaos is a whisper. How was your year?

In the poem, Nikki Giovanni says, “I suppose living in a materialistic society, luxury would be having more than you need.” Luxury is love, solitude, and quiet moments. Luxury is growing old with your family, friends, and communities of people. It’s being able to hear, blinking, and smelling the new seasons. Luxury is quiet weekends, a car, and having food at home. Luxury is feeling confident, secure, safe, and warm in your body.

There’s no surprise that Sunday Forever is a luxury. I started with only 100 subscribers, and now we are connected to storytellers from all over. I’m still thinking about the first storytellers in the first newsletter, Hello, from Sunday Forever! The theme was love, and love is seeing this newsletter grow into a sanctuary, encouraging men and women to have a lifetime of wonderful Sundays. I shared my first interview with Malakai, a creator, brilliant director, and the founder of Made In Her Image, and I teamed up with my friends Cay and Foxxy of Flavor of Fox to introduce a pomegranate margarita and a Tuscan shrimp and scallop pasta. Malakai said her superpower is manifesting, and women like her shared how they invest in themselves, spend their Sundays, and hold space for themselves while running businesses that impact others.

My first weekend of events started with a sound bath, followed by a day party celebrating our anniversary, and ended with a writing workshop sponsored by Final Draft and my friend Fraiche Signatures. The brunch for the day party was catered by Flavor of Fox, and she served Cajun specialties that I can still taste. It was then that I knew Sunday Forever was becoming a brand, a place that people were becoming attached to, and I was ultimately manifesting my dreams with friends who were doing the same.

I look back, and it’s been all God that I have had faith to keep planting into a project that all ages appreciate. I have grown with Sunday Forever and lived fully and even experienced loss. But I’ve been able to walk into each chapter fully embracing the ultimate luxury of God’s love and my love. The love is endless and never goes away.

Thank you for your appreciation of my newsletter. Thank you for attending or sharing my events. Thank you for holding tight for what’s to come. Our next season is focused on new roots, our nonprofit New Roots Foundation, Incorporated, and our journey to connect with more writers and, ultimately, secure a book deal.

As we inch closer to the New Year, and you reflect on all you’ve gained or lost, don’t forget to surrender. Celebrate yourself. Had you not shown up every day, moved forward, and put one foot in front of the other, we would never know the ultimate luxury of your love.

Thank you, and Happy Sunday. I hope you will enjoy much rest and happiness this holiday season. I’ve slowly gone through my favorite holiday movies: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Holiday, Jack Frost, Four Christmases, This Christmas, The Preacher's Wife, The Family Man, Last Holiday, and Something from Tiffany’s.

The photos attached are some of my favorite nostalgic memories, offering a glimpse into past events that have shaped this journey. These are moments I’ve never shared before, and I’m excited to share them with you now. This will be the last set of photos for now, but stay tuned for one final reflection and more exclusive images next Sunday.