I Luv HERCurlSTORY

I reflected on successful women like so many others. Attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt and embraced by Hilary Clinton. She said - "A woman is like a teabag. You can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water." As I looked closer and right by my side, I saw the strength in my wife when as the hot water of the 2020 pandemic heated up to a boiling scald, she launched her hair care business I Luv Curls.

The year brought us the devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic, the mental and emotional awakening to the social injustices and inequities toward minorities in our society, and the domestic and international threats to our democracy. The confluence of these events was sudden, swift, and immediate- a hurricane-like wind that thrust our physical and emotional daily lives out of their standard orbit and into unfamiliar spaces – unimaginable hostile territory, a war-like zone.

We are in the middle of a Pandemic. Uncertainty besieges us. Why are you launching a business? I asked. Amid her winded ramble accented with a pinch of saltiness and a dash of petulance, I deciphered that she was on a mission to "make you (women) a better you." She had decided with resolute fearlessness to attack the crown. Her instincts told her that women would need to embrace their entire natural selves - both inside and out. From the top of their heads to the souls of their feet. 

 HERCurlSTORY is of a woman who toiled tirelessly on researching, formulating, branding, packaging, messaging, and the thousands of details an entrepreneur must endure. As the inaugural year of her quest to conquer the crown sped towards an end, and 2021 began, the customary and countless well-wishes for a less tumultuous and more prosperous New Year abounded. But I noticed that they rang hollow this time around. I can see she was silently pondering if life would move forward without the residues and stains that place very different demands on us at home and work in 2020. The time seemed to be beckoning for more than the annual and superficial wishes and hopes that a future may bring. 

 I share my learnings from watching HERCurlSTORY as she journeyed through 2020 through 2022 and now 2023. It is a compass that guides and prepares me to deal with the trail of silent disorders and indelible scars- the PTSD that 2020 and life bring.

 There is an idiom, "hindsight is 20/20." From the rear-view mirror of HERCurlSTORY, I gained a more precise understanding of how to arm myself to battle the events and the fallout of 2020 by watching my wife as she shunned a very destructive habit – worry. And conquered a significant problem we all must overcome – fear. While the events of 2020 illuminated the ruinous and traumatic impact on those less fortunate, through the cruelty, she saw that helping you to "be a better you" is satisfying work and giving is a great joy. Unfortunately, the times also show the devil's ugly personality trait – selfishness.

 My wife's journey was partly inspired by the tireless efforts of the Covid-19 frontline workers. HERCurlSTORY is the power of the most courageous spirit that we all should nurture and keep –enthusiasm. For her like the frontline workers of the pandemic, I got– encouragement, the vaccine that lifted and carried me forward, preventing paralysis through those times. As an entrepreneur, like the frontline workers she had no time for the worth-less emotion – self-pity nor the crippling disease – excuse—both non sequitur for the daunting existential crisis she faced to get a business up and running in pandemic times.

 Like the scientists who developed the Covid-19 vaccine at warp speed, she accelerated   HERCurlSTORY and showed me and the world that the most powerful computer is the human brain well directed. And she accomplished the extraordinary while preserving her most prized possession –integrity. Like the Covid-19 scientists, she proved through her HERCurlSTORY that hope is the worst thing to lack.

 HERCurlSTORY revealed that the antidote to the poison from the collisions and imbalances that nature creates in our lives is simple, familiar, often overlooked, and is an effective healing serum- once recognized and applied. The genius of HERCurlSTORY is not the Luvly products that she created that serve the crown well, but the fact that the brain and the human spirit can self-correct.

 When asked what is the secret to my wife's Curl Story? I described the recipe as I saw it. A woman that took the most empowering words known to humankind – I can. Mixed in her most significant asset – faith and her most powerful force – love. She kept prayer on her communication channel and wrapped everything she did in her most beautiful attire – a smile.

HERCurlSTORY taught me to be aware of and be prepared to lean into the present, the unimaginable future, and the uncertainty of what looms beyond. HERCurlSTORY helps me "be a better me" to myself, a better husband to her, a better father to my son, a better brother to my sister, and a better servant to the world. I hope it helps you "be a better you."