Birmingham
Hi y’all! I’m JaVone Bentley and I was born in Birmingham a.k.a. The Magic City b.k.a Smoke City at St. Vincent’s Hospital. I have lived on the west side for most of my life. My grandparents planted their roots in Bush Hills and that’s where I grew up. My entire immediate maternal side attended Ensley High School and in 2006, I was valedictorian of the last graduating class before they closed the school permanently. After undergrad at The University of Alabama in 2011, I thought that I wanted to get away, so I moved to Houston, TX where I have lived until this past March. A few years ago, I started getting “the itch.” I was missing the friendliness and the “How you doin’?” greetings from strangers whose thick drawls were coated with genteel and Southern warmth. I was missing the random loud and proud “Roll Tide” calls. I was missing the crisp fall days where the scent of burning leaves always linger. I was missing the rhythmic songs of cicadas on warm summer nights. I was missing the rolling hills and the vast, lush, and beautiful arbor. I was missing HOME. So, after much contemplation, my husband, son, dog, and I packed up everything and moved back to Birmingham literally days before things were shut down due to COVID-19. They say home is where the heart is and being away really showed me that I am Alabama at heart. Since coming home I have realized how much the city has grown economically. I have also begun to explore just what the city has to offer, and I must say that it is a gem and it took leaving and coming back for me to knock off the dust to see its true beauty.
Mom
I have been married to my high school sweetheart, Darius, for six years, and in June 2019, we became the proud and ecstatic parents to Lexington Myles (although we have an 11-year-old dog son, Benjy). Prior to having my son, I was a high school English teacher but after I saw his little precious face, there was no way I could leave him. I now stay home so that I can spend as much time with him as possible. He is definitely our rainbow after a few storms (more on this later). He is a huge joy and he has made our lives so fun!
Staying at home has allowed me to cultivate and develop a strong bond with my son, but it has also allowed me to further develop some of my hobbies and passions including blogging and editing. In my (minimal) spare time, I work as an editor for books and I manage my blog/website, All for the Books, a website dedicated to reading and writing. Of all of the jobs in the world, being a mom is the absolute most rewarding while simultaneously being the most challenging.
Collective
As stated, being a mom is not without its challenges, and it was the need for adult interaction that led me to seek out BMC. I needed to talk with other moms who could understand exactly what I meant when I said “I’m tired.” I sought camaraderie and also networking.
Although I have lived in Birmingham for most of my life, moving back as an adult was different. So I wanted to find other like-minded moms to connect and explore the city with. I am elated to connect with such a diverse group of women.
