The One Time My Own Mama Took A Backseat...And I Didn't Care!

Soooooo…

God showed off on me this past weekend. And I’m still sitting here like, “Sir… you really did all that… for ME??”

Let me tell you what happened.

But first...

If you’re new here, welcome to the family. I'm TeeJ, the founder of Move-In Day Mafia. Mafia is what happens when a group of people decides that HBCU students who’ve experienced foster care, housing instability, or major life disruption should not have to “figure it out” alone.

We deck out their dorm rooms, send monthly care packages for four years, and surround them with H.U.G.S. Hope, Understanding, Generosity, Stability. And the people who make that happen? Mafia Miracle Makers. Not donors. Family.

Now listen…

This week's edition is not necessarily spot-on Mafia, but it's related. So stay with me.

Because before I was anybody’s founder… before any of this existed… I was a daughter, a sister, a favorite cousin, and a BIG SISTER.

And baaaaaabyyyy… I take that job VERY seriously. 😜

For about three years now, I have been watching this baseball league grow called Savannah Bananas. Think Harlem Globetrotters, but for baseball.

And when I tell you I was hooked… not even because of baseball… because of the JOY. The owner, the energy, the experience… it just felt like something I could learn from as we build Mafia.

So when they announced tickets for the Atlanta game, I entered the lottery… didn’t get picked.

And I’m not gonna lie… I was BUMMED. Like real life, sitting there pouting, “I'm a grown woman” bummed. 😒

I told my little brother Bud about it because not only did he go to Grambling on a baseball scholarship, but he’s also now an umpire. We talked about the game, the business, all of it… and then life moved on.

Or so I thought.

And then… AND THEEEEN…

A few months later...This dude… this dude who is 12 years my junior… whom I blazed a trail through our mama’s birth canal… sends me a text:
“Guess who just got called up to umpire the New Orleans Banana Ball game?”

Mafia Miracle Maker… when I tell you I screamed??? Not a cute scream. Not a ladylike “oh wow.”

I mean a full-on “THE NEIGHBORS ARE GONNA CALL THE POLICE” scream. 🤣

Because wait… not only is this the SAME game I was sad about not seeing… now 👏🏾 my👏🏾 little👏🏾 brother👏🏾 is👏🏾 ON👏🏾 THE👏🏾 FIELD???

In the Superdome???

Like… the New Orleans Saints field??? In front of THOUSANDS of people???

83,000 people to be exact!

So of course I said what any loving, supportive, slightly selfish big sister would say:
“I don’t care about mama… I don’t care about daddy… YOU BETTA FIGURE OUT HOW I GET IN THAT BUILDING.”

And I meant it. 😌

Don't worry. My parents were okay cuz they know how I feel about my knuckle-head little brother and by "little," I mean, he is 41 and 6'4".

But guess what… Bud figured it out!

Mama didn’t get a ticket. Sorry… not sorry Ma.

So boom. I fly to Louisiana. Excited. Can’t sleep. Acting like I’m the one umpiring.

And let me tell you… I did NOT come to play. I made a whole shirt for the occasion. Mine said:
“Proud Sister of One of the Umpires.”

​Because if I was pulling up… oh I was making it known.

I get to the stadium, and as I'm looking for my seat, I look down… and there he is. Walking the field.

And the tears just start falling.

Because in that moment, I wasn’t looking at “Marvin 'Bud' Mercer the umpire.”

I was looking at my baby brother. The one I used to wake up for school, get dressed, take to school, pick up… because our mama was working long hours making sure we had what we needed.

That little boy… now on THAT field.

And then… because God clearly wasn’t done showing out… I realize something.

I didn’t even pay for my ticket. His friend Reggie gave me a comp. Cool. Grateful. Thanks Reggie!

But THEN… AND THEEEEEEEWN…

I look at my seat. Thiiiiiiiird row.

But not just any third row. Right field.

​Y’all… RIGHT. WHERE. BUD. WAS.

I didn’t pick it. I didn’t ask for it. I didn’t even care where I was sitting. I just wanted to be in the building. And God said, “No… I want you to SEE this.”

So I sat there with an unobstructed view, watching them introduce him FIRST, watching him dance on that field, losing my ENTIRE mind like somebody's auntie who doesn’t know how to act. 🤣

And then I remembered… Mama, aka Ms. Thang Thang, didn’t have a ticket. So I video-called her.

And y’all… she got to watch her son wave at his mama from the field in front of tens of thousands of people.

And by the end of the game?

Everybody within at least a 10-seat radius knew:
“That’s my little brother out there.”

I had told them. More than once. Okay… probably about 17 times. 🤣

While sitting there… crying, screaming, acting a fool… but also real quiet inside at the same time because I realized something.
I wasn’t just proud because that’s my baby brother. I was proud because, being 12 years older, I had a hand in raising him. I had a front row seat to his becoming.

I poured into that boy. I covered him. I snuck and ate his food so he could finally get down to play after Mama told him he had to finish his dinner.

So watching him stand on that field... heck yeah, I was in my feelings.

And it hit me… that’s EXACTLY how I feel right now about our babies.

Because this year, we’ve got SIX Mafia scholars graduating. SIX.

And no… I didn’t raise them from childhood… but because of Mafia Miracle Makers, like you, we’ve walked with them. We’ve shown up. We’ve covered them. We’ve made sure they didn’t have to “figure it out” alone.

So when they cross that stage… oh I already know… I’m gonna be just as emotional, just as proud.

Because tangible love showed up through YOU… and now we get to watch it graduate.

So no… this story ain’t about a Mafia scholar this week. But it IS about the heart behind everything we do.

If you'd like to see the highlight reel I did for him, here you go.

Every month when our scholars submit their care package requests, they have to finish a sentence.

They choose one:
“I’m grateful that…”
“I’m excited that…”
“I’m looking forward to…”

​So we like to share some with you.

JOY IS NOT A DISTRACTION

Building Mafia is overwhelming and scary at times. If I'm honest, it's a lot. So I could have easily told myself, “You don’t have time for this.”

There’s always something to do.
Always another need.
Always another student to support.

But this weekend reminded me of something I don’t ever want to forget.

Joy is not a distraction from the work.
It’s fuel for it.

Those moments where you laugh too hard, cry a little, act a fool in public…

Those are the moments that refill you.

That remind you why your heart is wired the way it is.

So don’t skip them.

Don’t rush past them.
Don’t treat them like extras.

They’re not.
They're necessary.
​
Lastly, Adopt-A-Scholar Week wraps up tomorrow.

Here's where we are.

If you’ve got $3, there are items waiting right now at that level. And if you’re like me and hate shopping, you can always donate and let us handle the deets."

👉🏾 MoveInDayMafia.org/AdoptAScholar

👉🏾 MoveInDayMafia.org/Donate

See you next week. Don't forget to LIKE, COMMENT, SHARE AND SUBSCRIBE.

Until then...Hug yourself for me.