My mother had me when she was 15. As a girl that was raised in church, this was the ultimate no-no. I mean, anywhere this is crazy. A baby at 15? Being born from a teen Mother made me who I am today. I can overcome every obstacle I am faced with and this has a lot to do with my Mother. I remember when my Mother graduated high school, I remember when my Mother moved out of my Grandparent's house, I even remember her first job. These are not things that most children get to experience with their parents and this experience isn’t for the weak because you will see ALL of your parent's mistakes. Not intentionally but I was a very nosey child. Having a Mother that you sort of grew up with, the hierarchy is a bit skewed. Grandma is all of our Mom and while Mom is still Mom she without intent can become your sister in a way.
However, not in my house. I knew who my Mother was. My parents (Papa, Grandma, and Mom) made sure of it. Growing up, I loved that my Mom was young, I was never embarrassed by her she was cool. She was pretty, she was smart, and she took me to get Slurpees after school. She listened to all the cool music. I grew up on John P Kee and Hezekiah Walker but at my Mom's house, we got to listen to E-40 and D'Angelo. I mean, it's all about balance right? My brother and I had the ultimate cool Mom. What made her so cool? She did everything she could to ensure we had experiences. She worked her tail off and I mean that girl worked. For as long as I could remember she worked all night at the hospital. I didn’t understand why she did that because she was so tired all the time. She did that so she could be with us in the daytime after school She still managed to pick us up from school and then go back to work that evening. I had no complaints growing up the way that I did. I did not realize until I got older how hard it was for her. Being a single parent is hard enough but to be so young had to make it harder.
Now that I am older, I get it. I would do the same for Lil Kevin. Being a single Mother is hard and the workplace still isn't a place for Mother's period let alone a single Mother (I could rant all day long about this). I worked jobs I hated just so I could provide and be present for my son and I don't regret it at all. In 2014 my Mother and I graduated together from UW and that’s one of the dopest experiences of my life. We were able to take classes together, I copied her notes, she bought me lunch, it was a great experience for ME. She never stopped believing in herself, she never stopped working, she never stopped providing, and now that she has a Grandson she has gone even harder. Now I know she was a teen Mom but geez I’ve seen women with fewer obstacles that don't go this hard for their children. I thought everyone's Mom was like mine. I was a teenager when I realized how blessed I was. My Mom ensured I had everything I wanted. Of course, she had the best help from my Grandparents but most of the time she handled everything on her own. I have been an ungrateful spoiled brat at times and I cringe when I think of all the times I was not appreciative. It could not have been easy to raise me. My mouth still gets me in trouble and I have developed the most expensive taste, I can hardly afford to live as me.
Single Moms get a bad rep and I get it. We should have made better choices, we should have chosen better Fathers for our children, and the list of unsolicited advice goes on. I agree, with most of the criticism. However, all the single Mothe'r I know are killing it! My Mom had two children before 18 and sometimes I wonder how many people thought my Mother was going to fail because of her choices. I also wonder how she managed to be more successful than her peers that didn't have the same obstacles. Of course, God and a lot of support from Mom and Dad. The point of my story is, keep your judgments about single Mothers to yourself because in most cases they usually end up with a dope success story.
