My Life

by Lou'wanda H., Newport, DE Sometimes I sit and wonder what things would be like if my mom hadn't done some of the things that might have caused harm to my brother and me. Some you can't blame my mom for doing. She sent my brother and me to a shelter when I was six and my brother was ten. She said she didn't have room for us.

Even though life in the shelter was rough, we managed to ride it out. Times in the shelter were really hard for me because I didn't understand why I was there; when I asked my brother what was happening, he pretended I wasn't there. He was trying to "act all big" because there were bigger boys he was trying to hang with. He didn't want me tagging along. The girls at the shelter were rough, too; they would yell at me every time I tried to talk to them.

After being in the shelter for a while, my brother and I were moved to a foster home. There we stayed with Mr. Nate and Linda Henry. Once there, I cried so hard that Daddy Nate started to cry too. I felt as if I had no place to go and my mom was not around. After we got settled in, my mom visited. Seeing her relieved some of the tension that had been building up.

After living there for a while, Mommy Linda and Daddy Nate helped my mom get a bigger house. Things started to look better and my family was together again. But there was something still missing. Shortly after, my mom met a man named Alford and he came to live with us. Our family still has its hard times, but they seem a whole heck of a lot easier to deal with, with more people you loved to share it with.

Now looking back, things seemed to turn out fine. I am glad my mom made the decision she chose to make. I am very grateful for the things she did for me. Without that, I wouldn't be where I am today.