Juneteenth Journal: Cleaning House, Cooking Food, and Cleaning Up My Life

Today is Juneteenth.

It's a day that means a lot to me and to our culture. It's a day of freedom, resilience, survival, and remembering where we've come from. It's also one of those days where life doesn't stop just because it's a holiday. The dishes still need to be washed. The bed still needs to be made. The laundry still needs to be done. People still have to eat. Research still has to happen. Life keeps moving.

I woke up this morning with a lot on my mind.

First things first.

I need to make my bed.

I might even wash my sheets.

Actually, I think I'm definitely washing my sheets.

There's something satisfying about starting over with clean sheets. Maybe that's symbolic. Maybe that's what Juneteenth feels like in a small way. Cleaning out old things and making room for something better.

I also woke up dangerously hungry.

That's another thing I'm trying to work on.

I'm trying not to eat out as much anymore.

The last time I ate out, I ended up getting sick and throwing up, and honestly, I don't want to deal with that again.

So today, I'm cooking.

The only problem is...

I don't know what I'm cooking.

I'm standing in front of the refrigerator looking around.

There's cauliflower rice.

There's bell peppers.

There's leftover chicken.

There's Costco chicken.

There's grapes sitting in a bowl because we don't want gnats flying around the kitchen.

There's sweet potatoes somewhere.

Maybe I make a stir fry.

Maybe I make some kind of chicken and cauliflower rice dish.

Maybe I figure out something completely different.

Honestly, that's part of adulthood too.

Sometimes you don't know exactly what you're making.

You just look at what you have and figure something out.

I think life works like that sometimes.

You don't always get the exact ingredients you wanted.

You work with what you've got.

And honestly, I think that's a good lesson.

While we're talking about food, my family starts talking about what we're doing today.

Apparently there was some discussion about getting soul food from a food truck.

I didn't even know about that.

That's another funny thing about families.

Half the conversations happen without you realizing they happened.

One minute you're trying to figure out lunch.

The next minute everybody's talking about food trucks and sweet potatoes.

Life moves fast.

I also have other responsibilities today.

I need to wash my washcloths.

I need to do laundry.

I need to clean things up around the house.

I need to organize myself.

Part of me started wondering if there was some old superstition about not washing clothes on Juneteenth.

I honestly didn't know.

Then I laughed to myself because whether there is or isn't, I've already started washing clothes anyway.

So I guess I've already broken the superstition if one exists.

Sometimes life is like that.

You don't know all the rules.

You just do what you need to do.

Another thing that's been on my mind today is exhaustion.

I'm tired.

Really tired.

Last night I had some incredibly vivid dreams.

It didn't even feel like I slept through the night.

I woke up feeling like my brain had been working overtime while my body was trying to rest.

Lately, rest has become one of the biggest themes in my life.

The older I get, the more I realize how important recovery actually is.

You can't constantly work.

You can't constantly study.

You can't constantly create.

Eventually your body asks for a break.

And sometimes it demands one.

I've been thinking about that a lot lately.

Especially because I have so much going on.

Research.

Music.

Family.

Life.

Health.

Trying to stay organized.

Trying to stay motivated.

Trying to become a better version of myself.

It's a lot.

Another thing that crossed my mind today was the passing of a hip-hop producer.

Whenever someone passes away unexpectedly, especially someone connected to a community or culture you appreciate, it makes you stop and think.

It makes you think about time.

It makes you think about health.

It makes you think about purpose.

It makes you think about how quickly life can change.

I think Juneteenth naturally encourages that kind of reflection too.

It's a day that asks us to remember history.

To remember sacrifice.

To remember resilience.

To remember that people before us survived incredibly difficult circumstances and still found ways to build families, communities, traditions, and hope.

That perspective matters.

Especially on days when life feels overwhelming.

As I'm walking around the house doing chores, I realize something.

Today isn't really about doing one big thing.

It's about doing a lot of small things well.

Making the bed.

Washing the sheets.

Cooking food.

Cleaning up.

Taking care of responsibilities.

Working on music if I have the energy.

Getting ready for research.

Taking care of myself.

Sometimes I think we spend too much time waiting for huge moments.

Huge accomplishments.

Huge victories.

Huge celebrations.

But life isn't always made up of huge moments.

Sometimes life is made up of ordinary mornings.

Family conversations.

Looking through the refrigerator.

Trying to decide what to cook.

Doing laundry.

Cleaning the house.

Laughing about old superstitions.

Planning the day.

And maybe those ordinary moments deserve appreciation too.

I've also been thinking about summer.

Living in the South, it feels like summer starts long before the calendar says it does.

The heat arrives early.

The humidity arrives early.

Life changes early.

But officially, summer begins for a reason.

The seasons have structure.

They have timing.

They have purpose.

Maybe our lives work that way too.

Different seasons require different priorities.

Different responsibilities.

Different mindsets.

Maybe this season of my life isn't about rushing.

Maybe it's about simplifying.

Maybe it's about taking care of the things right in front of me.

Maybe it's about appreciating ordinary days.

Maybe it's about protecting my energy.

Maybe it's about taking care of my family, my responsibilities, my health, and myself.

As I finish this reflection, I realize something.

Juneteenth isn't just making me think about history.

It's making me think about gratitude.

Gratitude for family conversations in the kitchen.

Gratitude for food in the refrigerator.

Gratitude for a home to clean.

Gratitude for work to do.

Gratitude for music to create.

Gratitude for opportunities to learn and grow.

Gratitude for another day.

So today I'll wash the sheets.

I'll cook something.

I'll clean up.

I'll probably work on music.

I'll take care of responsibilities.

I'll try to get some rest.

And I'll remember that sometimes the best way to celebrate freedom is simply by taking care of the life you've been given and doing the ordinary things with intention.

Maybe that's enough for today.

And honestly, I think that's a pretty good Juneteenth.