One night, many years ago, I spent a night with one of my cousins. On this particular night several of her boyfriend's friends were there. I don't know if I was too trusting or thoughtless, but the next morning I discovered the cash in my wallet was missing. Incredibly pissed, I called my dad.
His response after I finished ranting: "Slippin counts, LeKechia."
You have to understand that my dad was raised differently than my parents chose to raise me. He's known a lifestyle that is foreign to me. When he was nineteen years old, around the same age I was when this incident took place, he was sentenced to thirty-five years in prison. He served nine years. I'm not glorifying this fact, but I do think it's important to mention here. My dad has been exposed to things I lack exposure to and all of his experiences inform his worldview, and he is a street savvy individual.
So there I was livid about my stolen money and receiving a lecture on being "caught slippin..."
"Slippin counts, LeKechia. You got caught with your guard down. You have to be aware of your surroundings and know who you're dealing with at all times. To some people," he said, "it's all fair game. I don't codone it, but I understand it."
As you can probably imagine that was the last time I was "caught slippin" in that manner, but I have slipped in other areas. I've had my guard down. I've lacked awareness of my surroundings and about some people in my life. All of that matters. Predatory people are not going to miss an opportunity to prey because someone is uninformed, unaware, and/or unprepared. "Slippin" does count," and we have to do our part to be and remain conscious and focused.
