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Showing posts from March, 2017

With God, I Am Truely My Brother's Keeper

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I was nineteen years old when I received the most devastating news of my life. I still remember it as if it happened yesterday. It was February 2,2002 and I remember it was a very cold, gloomy and rainy day. My mother and I had to go to her doctor's office to get the results of her biopsy. The ride to the doctor's office was silent. I know my mother was worried because she was silent to . Which was strange because she wasn't a very quiet woman unless she was in deep thought. For several months my mother kept telling her regular doctor that she was worried about the lump she had in her right breast. Her doctor would brush it off and say to her. Ms. Acoff you're to young to have breast cancer. My mother had a gut feeling that she had breast cancer and it was confirmed on that dreadful day in February. When the doctor said those four words that would change the course of my life forever, "you have breast cancer", my heart sunk. As soon as I heard those wo

Somebody Prayed For Me: When I Almost Lost My Mind Losing My Daughter To Gun Violence

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My name is Kendra Monea Kendrick , and I am a mother of four beautiful kids. My life was affected by gun violence , when I lost my 6 year old daughter. I still have trouble going to her grave site, but when I do go I know she is with me , because the wind is constantly blowing. I don't go like I should but I go enough for her to know that mommy is always here. I thank GOD for bringing me this far  I know He will never leave me....I ALMOST LET GO ! On January 4th , I lost my daughter  She was shot with a SKS. She got shot in the side and it went through her back. That morning was the worst day of my life. Our home was shot up around 3:37 A.M. They called it a drive-by . All I heard was a lot of loud noises that sound like bombs and the smell was awful, I thought our house was blowing up because it was gas . I never thought somebody was actually shooting it up , after it was done I didn't notice my daughter was hit until I seen her shirt, and all I could do was panic

Had To Remember Who Was In Control

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Photos: Felecia Causey Written By: Jazzlind Sickle Cell is a genetic blood disorder where the red blood cell are crescent shaped. Due to this abnormal shape the red blood cells do not last as long and they don’t carry the adequate amounts of oxygen. The sickled shape causes all types of problems for the patient the main one being episodes of severe pain called crisis. My parents found out about my diagnosis at birth and I had my first crisis at 6 months old and it has been on and popping from there. I can remember spending every birthday and holiday in the hospital until I was maybe 12 years old. We were there so much we basically knew the nurses personally. Me being sick did not really affect school until my high school years. I always maintained good grades even though I missed quite often. I don’t remember being treated differently in elementary school but middle school was a different ball game. I was teased because my eyes were jaundice (yellow) but nothing too major I mo

The Fear of: A Soon To Be Divorce Single Mom

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Written By: Felecia Causey Model: Kayla King (Kayla King is only a model for this post, she is not the character or affiliated with anyone in the story) I knew when I married my high school sweetheart, that I would be a homemaker. After the birth of my 2nd child I had gained a lot of weight.  When my 3rd baby came, I just didn't find the time to workout, and eating healthy was out the door, because with three little ones, I grabbed and ate, what I could, when I could. My me time was when, everyone went to sleep, and I had the opportunity to read a good book. I noticed the relationship was changing after five years into our marriage. My husband constantly went hunting or fishing after work or on the weekends. I tried not to complain because I chose the role to be a stay at home mom. I didn't get vacation or sick days. I was consumed 24/7 being a mother, a doctor, teacher, wife, maid, and much more. I kept finding myself being unhappy, but my love for my kids made

I Want More Than Just A Ring and Title

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Written By: Felecia Causey Model: Jakendra Holloway I am at the point in my life , where I am seeing all my friends and some of family members I grew with up with, that are getting married and starting families. I was/am genuinely happy for each wedding and engagement I have came across. I was excited to see the proposal videos or engagement photos, posted on social media. I would ask myself,  "when would that be me?". Although each proposal was slightly different from each other, what it did show every time was two happy people who looked in love. Many people I know gave their now fiance or husband a time frame to get married or propose to them. I also had some friends trying to beat someone else to the alter or they grew impatient of not having the title as a wife. The same ones who rushed for engagement are either with a cheater, someone who doesn't work, or someone who doesn't even take care of their kids from previous relat

Embracing The Fact She Is Different

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Most nights I'm awakened and cannot get back to sleep easily, sometimes I get frustrated with my sleepless nights and other times I stay up thinking to myself, "wow, we have come a long way". That means something, I didn't give up, and I didn't let it beat me down, so what if someone else could feel the same way? She was 18 months old, my oldest, and I know most parents try to tell you not to compare your kids to others, but this I just couldn't ignore .   I couldn't help but notice how other kids her age were spontaneously uttering "mama" "dada" or at least saying "no", the most heard word for most babies starting at the age where they are able to at least grab things. I kept hearing "oh, she will talk when she is ready", "nothings wrong with her, just give her some time" and that's what I tried to do. Two more months go by and I'm still not getting anything out of her, completely non

I Will Do Whatever Needs to Be Done For My Kids

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Photos By: Felecia Causey Written By: Taniqua Clair Hi, my name is Taniqua Claiborne and I am a parent of two special need kids. Before having my children, I was enrolled in college to pursue my degree in Biology Pre-Med to one day become a doctor. In 2012 I had my first son Mason LaShawn McCreary, also known as my pride and joy! Becoming a mother was nothing I had planned however, I wouldn't change it for the world. When Mason was born ,the doctor brought to my attention that he had a small ear deformity but nothing too drastic. Later ,when Mason was only a few weeks old, I found out that this deformity was called microtia- a congenital deformity where the pinna( external ear) is undeveloped. I never heard of this condition nor have I ever seen it but, I was determined to educate myself on microtia. When Mason was only two weeks old, he began to see specialist from what started to only be for his hearing but, it extended to more findings along the way. Parenting a c

When Being Strong Is The Only Choice

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My child is the greatest gift God can give me . I felt I found my purpose in life once I gave birth to my son . I was 21 when I was pregnant with my child . Still young so I had a few worries . After all a child is a huge responsibility. Maybe the heaviest responsibility that will ever be placed in my hands. I'm an only child and not really family oriented. I was excited about caring for my child , starting my own family, and experiencin g the unconditional love, I knew my child would have for me . During my pregnancy I went to all my doctor appointments like I was suppose d to . Everything was looking great, and it looked as if I was going to have a smooth pregnancy.  It's was almost the end of my pregnancy, and I was 37 weeks, I remember being rushed to the hospital for high blood pressure. It had been this way for the last few weeks . In r esults to that I was in pain . When I got to the hospital, I found out my child's heart rate was extremely

A Note: Mother to Mother

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Dear Mother, We are mothers who are strangers, yet all of us are anxiously waiting on our bundles of joy. We are in love with someone whom we have never met. Our kids may never meet each other, but we all want the best for our children. We will cherish every movement, from the first time hearing our baby hearts beat, to the viewing of him/her on the ultra sound, and to the growing of our bellies. These are just the beginning of moments we will hold so close. We are aware of the scary things happening in the world, and I am sure we will try our best to shield them, the best we can on this journey called life. We want the best for our babies and want them to follow their dreams. We would like our babies to know there is no love like a mother's love. We may show it differently, but it's all the same. With every kick and movement, it's confirmation of God's amazing gifts to us. As we go our separate ways, and will soon deliver our bundles of joy, we as mothers who

Selecting The Best Hospital To Have Your Baby

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When it get close time for moms to be to have their baby, they want to experience the perfect birth. As most of us know, birth plans doesn't goes as you have intended. With the many horror stories from women dealing with poor facilities or rude, unprofessional, and unconcerned staff, the question most moms to be may be wondering, how can I choose the right hospital for me. Many soon to be mothers, choose the hospital because their doctor only delivers there, their family delivered there, or because it's the only one that's close to their location. What about you ladies who are willing to travel or have an array of hospitals to choose from where you live? How do you choose the one who will give you the top of the line care, have the best facility/equipment, amazing staff, and mostly will respect your birth plan? The United States has many hospitals. Many ladies take the time out to read reviews or hear others opinions because this is a very special moment for the

Embracing Who I Am

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The story was written and is owned by: Felecia Causey (ME!) Model: Christia (Tia) Wells The lady in the photos is only a model used for my story. My mother had four kids, and I was the oldest. I was born before she met and married my step-father. As I was growing up, I definitely felt like the outsider. I wasn't ever invited to a lot of parties or family events because I was the outside child. My mother would always drop me off at her mother's house. Many times I would go in the bathroom and cry. My grandmother would allow me to stay outside until it was dark. When I came inside, she made me take a bathe, and fix me a pallet on the living room floor. She would fix me a sandwhich before I would fall asleep, and I remember I would still be hungry. I would toss and turn in the dark ready for daylight to peep out, so I can eat breakfast. The next day around noon, my mother and siblings would come pick me up. I would sit and watch as my grandmother embraced my brother an

Faith and Heart Equals Change

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My name is Laporsche Hollon, I am a wife of three beautiful kids with an amazing husband who stands by my side. Thr oughout life we all have our problems an d differ ent way’s of dealing with them . Sometimes we lo ok for ways to cover up our problems suc h as eating unhealthy, drinking or sm oking. My problem became eating unhealthy and just not c aring about myself . Until one day I wanted to go shopping and I w as unsure what size I was in. I still didn ’t have a care in the world as long as my husband loved me for who I was. Then one day I decided to get a job in a production enviro nment, where I had to mo ve fast past all day for ten to twelve hours sometimes. There w as one day where I sweating so bad my legs rubbed raw. When I got home I talked to my husband abo ut it, and  he didn’t know what to say. His mother came over and she started telling me about products I could use to help me with the pr oblem. I thou ght to m yself I had to do so mething now