Reciprocity

This weekend I was thinking about Lauren Hill’s song ‘Reciprocity'… Lauren was singing about a man/ woman thang… She wanted him to at a minimum give what she was giving… Just a little reciprocity… What Webster defines as…mutual dependence, action or influence… Since I have a reciprocal love thang… I started thinking about other relationships… And I have to admit that I have a history of befriending…and… Embracing people… Who it is virtually impossible to have a reciprocal relationship with… The friend who never has money…so you have to pay… The friend who has had a string of bad relationships…so you can’t giggle around her… When yours is just so lovely… The white person you always have to translate what you are saying to… When you are feeling real black… Wonder why I was like that… Always feeling a tad guilty when I was with those people… As though enjoying my life was not supposed to happen… Because they weren’t enjoying theirs… I used to always say… “It just keeps me humble…” And I guess it does… But there are days when I want to revel in reciprocity… With my friends who truly get it… When I say let’s dress up and eat out… They say… “Okay, girl let’s…” Or when I am giggling, smiling and wiggling for no good reason…my friend will say… “When it’s good, it’s real good, ain’t it?” I can say… “Umm hmmm…” Or when I say…. “Hey Ms. Thang…what up…” She will reply… “Nuttin’ girl, just livin’…” Trust me when I say diversity is lovely…. But some days a sista needs some sameness… A little reciprocity… acVernon Menchan