Psalms 23

On 12/10/16, Squeak baby's mom died.
Mary Patterson was a force. Smart, loving, beautiful, sharp dresser, accomplished , truth teller and down to earth.

I never forget the first time we met.
Homecoming & Robin was a freshman.
It was the morning after. Robin walks in the suite, Vickie these are my parents.
I was mortified, liquor bottles and roaches every where.

She walked in with Pat and said I am Mary and this is Pat.

Cool as a fan. No judgement.

Fast forward, my many trips to New Jersey. They cooked breakfast on the grill.
They had a great home and Amway.
She was a council woman. I had never known one personally. I was amazed at how down to earth and authentic a politician could be.

I am very saddened for Robin and the Patterson Family. First their Aunt, their cousin, Scott and now Ms. Mary. They have lost their matriarch and Mr. Pat, his soul mate.

I have very fond memories of Ms. Mary. She was a jewel... simply a jewel.

#Rip Ms. Mary Patterson, sleep well and May God strengthen your family as they navigate this new normal.

Teachable Moment

Rudeness.

Today, I followed up on a lead from my husband. I spoke to briefly.  He put his colleague on.  She was curt and to the point. She heard nothing  and conveyed that I was a pest.

I felt some kind of way. She hung up on me. I FELT SOME KIND OF WAY!
There is no reason to be rude in business.  Abruptly ceasing a call...wow.
Hanging up on me....wow.

The business knew. The owner and operation Manager apologized.
I felt ok, but was it sincere.

Rudeness was the word of the day...not cool.

Vick the Communication Diva
Www.opndoor.com

Thank you

Good morning all. I want to thank over 500 of my facebook friends for taking the time out of a traumatic day (for many ) and a joyous day for a few , to wish me a happy birthday. Thank you for the many text and calls.
Although, I did not wake up to the 1st woman President, I am proud of my fellow Scorpio Hillary Rodham Clinton, she broke the glass ceiling and although she lost, she conceded with class.

I had a wonderful birthday, simply because I am here to celebrate it.

The donald is now the President and I will respect the office. I will also hold him accountable.

Folks who did vote, hold him accountable. Folks who did not vote, u now know that votes count more than twitter, instagram and protest.

I fully intend to be fully engaged. I will be engaged with my sorority on the regional level. With my friends on the local level. With my local board appointments on the local level. With my gubernatorial appointments at the state level.

Be not afraid. Be informed, be empowered and be engaged.

To my Trumps supporters, this is a presidency and not a dictatorship. It is a government and not a private business, he cannot ramrod anything down the legislators throats.

And oh by the way, he is the President of all the people...

Love,

Short , bowlegged force of Nature....Vickie R. Wms-Cullins aka Ms. Firecracker aka Vickie Chill

Today

Trump is President

Trump is President. Wowwwww.
I am disappointed but not surprised.
He mobilized a conservative base fearful of the power of Obama, lgbtq,women and minorities.

What is I going to do?
Inform,empower, engage

I am not moving.  I am going to mobilize.  I am going to encourage folks to engage in the process.  Know your legislators.
Know their voting record

Do not recoil. Do not become complacent 
Do not become apathetic.

#speakyourminditaintillegalyet

Vick the Communication Diva
Www.opndoor.com

VOTE, IT AIN'T ILLEGAL YET

Your vote is personal.
Most people vote their values.
A vote for Trump shows that you do not value diversity, women, elderly, poor, military, blacks, Latinos,&_lgtbq community.
You value bullying over compromise.
You value shouting over listening.
You value decisiveness over inclusion.
Oh, I hear you...Hillary is a crook..
#naasonshehasbeenconvictedofnothing
Most importantly she will listen and values inclusiveness.
That is a leader

#iamwithher

Vick the Communication Diva
www.opndoor.com

Rushing helps nothing

Rushing helps nothing. The last 2 days, I have rushed. I forgot important appointments. I inconvenienced clients. I was embarrassed.

I wanted to blame the client that that caused me to reschedule; but that wasn't true.
The blame rest on me. I did not pay attention to who and what I was texting.
I allowed my emotions to get the best of me.

I owned up and apologized.  I will give them a panera card.
I.will.slow.down.

Pay attention to detail.

Vick the Communication Diva
Www.opndoor.com

Update, Reboot, Reconnect

I have been doing a lot and I have been doing nothing.
I am reading the "Greatest Salesman in the World, I am working on being more disciplined and less afraid of success.
I want to mentor, I want to help, I want to be known as the best mediator in the world.
I cannot do that being afraid.

Today, I am taking steps towards being more disciplined about my business, more accountable about my goals and less afraid of the success that I deserve to have.

Vick the Communication Diva
www.opndoor.com

Thankful

As, I reflect on the last two weekends,  I am thankful.
Thankful to celebrate my love and reconnect with my high school classmates.
We worked hard to create a memory.
Hard.
No matter the snafu, we overcame them.
I created stronger and lovelier friendships with classmates that I lost contact with.
35 yrs is a very very long time and people evolve .
God has been kind and we have been touched by HIS grace.

Can't Crush A Crab

T, 60 and grateful

This is my husband's 60th birthday. He and I have been together for 14 years and married for 8.

He is absolutely the most important person to me.
He is amazing. He is brilliant and handsome. He is driven and confident. He is sauve and slick. He is mercurial.  He cannot be controlled.

I love that about him. He wants me to be great. He absolutely does and does what he can to make it happen.

I am grateful that I was able to make this weekend wonderful for him.

60
Grateful

Goals

The past few weeks have been amazing.
I received news that I was appointed to my beloved sororities regional social action committee.....#yessssssss

On Thursday,  I learned that I received a gubernatorial appointment. Me..the little insecure girl from Hampton Va.
Me the bullied misfit from shell road.
Me the 20 year employee who was fired and went on to start her own mediation and corporate training firm.
Me , me ,me..
It feels amazing to set and achieve goals.
Small Business Commission. ..
Regional Social Action committee Member
Vickie R. Wms-Cullins,  Executive director of OPN-Door Communications, mediation and corporate training firm.

Let nothing stop you.
#stumblefalltripcrawltoachieveurgoals

Vick the Communication Diva
Www.opndoor.com

Grateful

I am thankful for my tribe of women. Sistahs, who support me, cry with me, laugh with me, push me and have the courage to disagree with me.
I am grateful for the independent vocal authentic women in my life.

A week.

A tough week. Physically, I was hurting.
Mentally,  I was strained. I didn't show up at important events.

I just tried to be comfortable and finish projects .

I am exhausted and I have honored the exhaustion.

I completed an important project.
I am proud,  but my insect bite allergy flared up, badly.

I am grateful,  grateful that I finished my proposal and can rest.

Vick the Communication Diva
Www.opndoor.com

Today

Today, we buried my mom's best friend and our "bonus grandmother " Nonnie.

So many folks came out for her. The homies and the privileged.

She impacted so many and left of legacy of love, wisdom, friendship and strength.

We were blessed to have her in our family.

Very blessed.

God speed , Ms. Estelle. .its good to know you are still mama's neighbor.

#loveu

Vickory
Vick the Communication Diva
Www.opndoor.com

#blackgirlmagic

You can copy our hair, our butt, our boobs, our lips, our music and our style.

You can attempt to change the narrative about how we are envisioned.

Copy or appropriate.

What you can NEVER EVER do is appropriate #blackgirlmagic.

#nopeucannotapporpriateblackgirlsmagic
Vick the Communication Diva
Www.opndoor.com

Saying good bye, to Nonnie

In 1973, we moved to Lasalle ave. Estelle Spencer was our neighbor.  She soon became family. Smart, savvy, and loving. Nonnie was no nonsense.  She was old school. She was the village. She watched out for your home, the neighborhood and your children.
She was my Mom's best friend and our "grandmother". My brothers and I were special to her and she to us.

Now, she has transitioned on to Glory. Ms. Estelle, the Williams family were glad, we became your neighbors,  thank you. Thank you for welcoming us into your heart and into your family. Thank you for your wisdom, love and belief in us. You had a huge impact and made a tremendous positive difference in my life, my brother's lives and many many other's in Hampton and NN.

Say Hi, to Bob and Ray C. for us.

We love and miss you. Rest in Peace.

Love Vickory

Circle of Life

This was a good weekend.  I started to plan again.  I wrote down my dreams.
I spent time with my sorors, bros, fellow Greeks and volunteered my time .
Then , I got a call that an elder was dying.

Estelle Spencer came into my life when I was 9. She was our neighbor and my mom's best friend.  She was there for my family and we were there for hers. She truly epitomized what a neighbor was.

She spoke her mind, was just nosey enough,  she was strong willed and regulated the neighborhood.

She was a nanny, crab picker and real estate owner. She was kind and loving. She welcomed all into her home , including your dog. Lol.

When, my mom died, a part of her died too. They watched over each other.
Yesterday,  her granddaughter Kim, said she was talking to her family,  who had passed on. She mentioned Bob, my mamma. She asked her to wait for her.

She is. Nonie as you begin your transition,  be at peace, you have left a legacy of love, service, strength, wisdom and unwavering friendship.

Love,

Your Vickory

Vick the Communication Diva
Www.opndoor.com

Bloody July

July has been a month of death and turmoil.

We have viewed grown men being murdered by the police and viciousness from a presidential candidate.

But, what hurt my heart the most, was when a old friend's son was murdered on his way to work.

College sophomore on his way to his job, shot by unknown assailants.

This is a very scary time. We got to do something. 

Voters are apathetic about the candidates and threaten to stay home. 

This is a very scary time. We got to do something. 

If, you don't vote , you have given away your voice. You must be mindful,  that every congressional seat is up for reelection.  The supreme court appointment is up. We stayed home in 12 & we elected a obstructive congress.

We must fight police brutality,  we must fight systematic racism,  we must fight violence in our communities,  we must fight for equal rights, we must fight for a level playing field.

We CAN'T LET TRUMP AND HIS TEAM win.

#voteitaintillegalyet

Vick the Communication Diva
Www.opndoor.com

Again, again and yet again

Dallas. Peaceful protest. Police doing their jobs. Sniper kills police. Media and zealots want to blame the black lives movement.

No, no, and no.

I do not advocate for police to be killed.
I do not advocate for anyone to be killed.

These are two distinct separate issues.
Stay woke or the zealots will completely divide the folks who want to help.

Communication and cultural competency is the key. Most folks fear what they do not know or understand. 

Stay Woke.

Mobilize,  Strategize, Engage.

Vick the Communication Diva
Www.opndoor.com

Again. ..why Again

Again,  a black man is killed at the hands of the police. 

Again,  anger, fear, outrage and sadness has set in.

We talk, we March,  we facebook and tweet; yet there is no change.

We pray, we scream, cry and wail; but nothing changes.

The police are sworn to protect and serve everyone,  even people of color,  even black folks. However,  some don't.  Some won't. 

It's more then just registering to vote, it's more then voting;  it is engaging with the powers to be of what we will and will not accept.

We must DEMAND CHANGE.
We must STAND FAST, UNTIL OUR CHANGE IS IMPLEMENTED!

#blackgirlsengage
#blacklivesmatter

Vick the Communication Diva
Www.opndoor.com