When daddy left momma, his three kids and moved up
north to Bellevue, Washington and married some white women who had just given
birth to his fourth child, momma just fell into a million little pieces. I
guess she never saw it coming. I never seen her so lost. I would watch her sit
in daddy’s old recliner and just stare into space for hours on end. One day I
saw her slouched over in that old chair her head hung down to her knees sobbing
and saying, “I never should’ah trusted
him… I-I should-ah listen to momma when she said, “Never give up your dreams
for a man.” Now just look at me, left raising three kids alone, no money, how
am I going to keep a roof over our heads?” I felt so bad for momma, but
wasn’t really nothing I could do as a child except talk to Jesus, she always
told us kids that if we ever got into some sort of trouble to call on Him, and
that’s what I did but it didn’t bring daddy back home. Momma couldn’t afford to
pay the rent and bills in the 4 bedroom house we lived in so we got on welfare
and moved into a tiny little 2 bedroom duplex off Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
That’s all momma could afford on the $745.00 she got each month from the Dept.
of Social Health and Services. I really didn’t see her crying anymore after she
enrolled into Portland Community College, she went to school Monday thru Friday
just like we did. I was 10 years old at that time and momma use to tell me that
she needed me to be her big helper, and when I get home from school to make my
younger sister and brother a snack, put on cartoons, and not to answer the
phone or the door for anybody until she got home from class at 4:00pm. I
listened to her because I wanted my mom to make it past what daddy did to her,
and she did too. Two years later mom graduated from PCC, got off welfare and
got a good paying job in Vancouver, Washington at the Southwest Washington
Medical Center, as a medical records specialist. She was able to move us into 3
bedroom house located in the Fox croft Community, not even five minutes away
from where she worked. I guess God had heard my prayers after all, but felt
momma was better off without Daddy. Years rolled on by, and us kids were
growing up. Momma put daddy on child support and collected over $10,000 dollars
in back pay, and he was ordered by the judge to pay momma, $1500 a month till
we were all of age. I love Dad with all
my heart, but I was glad he had to pay mom, after everything he put her through.
Things were going so well by the time I got to high school. I was determined to
put my past behind me and make something outah myself like my mother did, she
is my mentor and I hope I can become half as strong as she is one day. I met Carmen, Vega and Divon when I attended
Fort Van High School, we were all like family, they stuck by my side when I got
pregnant in the 10th grade with my eldest Keisey and I know I can
depend on them to be there through anything. I love my girls!
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