She did what?!

I woke up this morning, LATE! A little grumpy, but thanks to my morning radio station, by the time I came into work, I was not as cranky as I thought I would be. I brought in cereal for breakfast, but I was in a turkey-bacon-eggs-and-cheese kinda mood, so I went to the deli where I normally grub in the morning. And then it happened.

::FREEZE::

Have you even been in a situation where you think you know exactly how it is going to go, but by your surprise, it goes totally different? Good, I am not the only one. Back to the story.

::UNFREEZE::

As I am walking to the deli, I see a black woman and I admire her because I think she looks classy, yet simple. I give her the head-to-toe once over and when we make eye contact, she smiles at me. Nothing over the top or too dramatic, just one of those "good morning" smiles that can sometimes be accompanied by a head nod. Of course I smile back, but after that brief encounter, my mind starts racing. How come more black women do not greet each other that way?

Here's why I'm mad:

I do not understand the concept of women tearing each other down, especially black women. If we see a woman staring too hard, we automatically assume the worse. When a black woman sees another woman staring at her, the reflexive thought, "What is she looking at?!" pops into her head. We do not think that the woman (black or white, but mainly black) is admiring our shoes; we do not think that she likes our outfit or thinks our hair is cute. We think she has an eye problem! Why?

How come we do not smile and nod? You see her staring and you KNOW she knows that you know you just caught her staring- so why not smile? Why do we think the worst? This morning's exchange made me decide I am going to do better. I am an attractive woman who is comfortable in her own skin. I should not feel intimidated or threatened by another woman, especially a black woman, because at the end of the day, we are probably in the same boat. I am challenging my black sisters to wear a smile today. See if it does not change how you feel; see if it does not change how someone else feels about you! If you are staring at woman with a beautiful dress, compliment her! That will be one less woman on the street wondering who in the hell are you looking at and why? Who knows, she might surprise you and comment on those fierce shoes you are wearing.