The Potty Mouth Granny

  • Pill Hill: The Quiet Crown on Chicago’s South Side

    There are parts of Chicago that never seem to make the national conversation unless somebody wants to talk about crime, dysfunction, or urban decay. And as a native Black Chicagoan, that selective storytelling has irritated my soul for years. Because this city contains multitudes. Beauty. History. Elegance. Complexity. Survival. Pride. And tucked quietly into the…

    thepottymouthgranny

  • The Life I Planned at Eight

    As I lay in bed contemplating my existence, a random thought floated into my mind: did I ever actually want to get married, or was that desire planted there by society? When I was a little girl, I had big plans for myself. I wanted to be a lawyer—specifically a prosecuting attorney—so I could lock…

    thepottymouthgranny

  • Survival Is My Resume

    I do a good job of not being depressed, but let’s be clear—it’s work. Daily, intentional, teeth-gritting work. I followed the script American society handed me, even when the pages were stained and missing chapters. I became a teenage mother and didn’t earn my GED until I was twenty-seven. I went to college while raising…

    thepottymouthgranny

  • Self Reflection Friday

    I am a woman who is a big kid at heart. I still love cartoons and collect Barbie dolls and at times, I have wondered if this was normal. So I did some reflection from within and decided that yes, it’s normal to like cartoons and collect dolls as an adult but…. What does that…

    thepottymouthgranny

  • You Are My Love Child

    Yesterday was a day she would tuck carefully into the folds of memory. It was the birthday of her oldest child thirty-eight years now and the weight of that number pressed gently against her chest and her soul. She could hardly believe it. Time, that quiet magician, had slipped by while she wasn’t looking. It…

    thepottymouthgranny

  • Proud Survivor

    A couple of years ago, I read an article about the zodiac sign Scorpio since I am one and one passage jumped out at me immediately. It said that if you sat down and spoke with a Scorpio and they told you their life story, you would be amazed at how much they have gone…

    thepottymouthgranny

  • An Obituary Dedicated to My Former Self

    Once upon a time, a woman named Kathy Maria Henry was born, and she has dealt with a lot of adversity in her life. She was a teen mother on welfare, lived in low income housing, and was considered one of the dregs of society. But she refused to allow the limitations that society placed…

    thepottymouthgranny

  • Adventures in Epilepsy Land & Other Shit

    So in January, I had another seizure and now I’m on two anti seizure medications. The new one Vimpat is classified as a Schedule 5 narcotic so now I’m a dopefiend☠️☠️☠️. I’m exaggerating but I’m so damn tired, even more tired than I was before. My vision is blurry, my balance is off. In layman…

    thepottymouthgranny

  • Lessons Learned From the Social Media

    I’ve been on the social media for 14 years this month and it has taught me several lessons. Mostly that humans are some miserable creatures who get a sick thrill off the unhappiness of others. It has also taught me a lot about the pathology of some Black folks who are Generation X and below…

    thepottymouthgranny

  • My Syllabus If I Became A Professor

    This syllabus was created the spring of 2006 when I was a senior in undergrad and was contemplating going further and getting a PhD. Enjoy. The African American Woman 350/450 Department of African-American StudiesT Th 12:00 – 1:30p.m.Room 434 – Auditorium BuildingRoosevelt University: Spring 2007Instructor: Kathy M. Henry Email: kathyhenry10@sbcglobal.net Phone: 312 341-8260 Office Hours:…

    thepottymouthgranny