English 125
Instructor: Ms. Young-Manning
Bend but Won't Break
My life changing experience all started on a Wednesday morning of my third grade school year. My mom walked into the bedroom where my older sister, younger brother, and I slept and she woke us up to get ready for school about one hour earlier than the usual time.
“Wake up, kids!” she yelled in an uncomfortably loud voice. She made sure that we were all dressed and ready to go for classes that day. Before we left the house, my mom and stepdad were dressed as if they had to be somewhere important that day, but before we walked out, my mother said, “Kids, I need to talk to you before you guys go to school so go sit on the couch.”
I noticed that she began to look worried and very upset as a tear rolled down her cheek. When all three of us were seated, she started to tell us in a very sad voice what was going on.
She began with the opening words, “I love you guys, and I want you guys to be strong and always look out for each other, no matter what happens today.”
“What is going on, Mom?” my older sister said, as she began to cry.
“Look my kids, this might the last time I see you guys for a while so please don’t cry. I need you guys to be strong,” said my mom in response to all of our sad faces. “I might be gone for about two months, and you guys will be in the care of your stepdad or grandparents, so please behave yourselves.”
“Mom, don’t leave!” I yelled.
“I have to by force, my loves.” She stopped crying and wiped her tears off her face and said, “Stop crying because no one is dying.” She wiped the tears off of our faces and waited till we relaxed and walked us to the car where my stepdad waited, and they dropped us off at school.
It was one of the saddest days of my life. All of my brothers and I hung out that day at recess and just kept waiting for the school day to end, so we could walk home and see what had happened to my mom. That day though, my stepdad picked us up from school, and when we got home, the house felt so lonely as we noticed that our mom wasn’t there. Our aunt came over to spend the night with us in an attempt to cheer us up for the remainder of the day.
The following morning my stepdad was at the kitchen table with breakfast ready, and he asked us to take a seat. “Sit down, kids. I need to tell you guys what is happening with your mother.”
He explained to us with a very upset voice that my mom had been using and selling narcotics, so she was put away for two-three months in jail without bail. We all started to cry for our mom, and we just wished with all our hearts that it was all a bad dream, but reality hit us that it would be a while till our mom would be reunited with us.
Time went by so slowly. Day by day we grew stronger as brothers and sisters, as we knew that we were all we really had. Finally, about a month and a half went by, and we got a little accustomed to looking after each other. We would make sure that our clothes were clean, that the house was maintained in good condition, and that we did our homework. We pretty much had to take care of each other as my stepdad worked Monday to Saturday just to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads.
We were learning the importance of being emotionally and mentally strong. We knew that every day that went by meant that we were one day closer to seeing our mom once again. Finally, that day came about two months after she was booked in jail.
I remember that day as if it were yesterday. I was in the school cafeteria when Mrs.Gilurry, my after-school teacher, said that someone was there to pick us up and when I walked towards the door, I saw my mom.
“Mom!” I yelled from the distance, and so did my brother and sister. We ran to her as fast as we could just to make sure that we all got a big hug and a warm kiss from our mom who had been gone for about two months.
When we got home, my mom made our favorite food, lasagna, as a celebration of her homecoming. That night we were so happy. My mom told us in a cheerful voice, “I love you, my kids.”
It made us cry tears of happiness, and she made a promise that she has tried her all to keep to this very day. She said, “I promise that I will change and do all in my power to be a better mother.” I was so glad to hear my mom say that, but little did we know that the promise she made would cost us our mother's presence once again as she was put in a rehabilitation center about one month later.
This time around things were different because she would be gone for an entire year. We were sent to be under the care of our grandparents here in Madera. Being so little and having to experience something like this made my brothers and I grow up a lot faster than your average child. We had to learn how to look after each other and how to distinguish from right and wrong at an early age.
This is probably why my brothers and I bend but won’t break. These experiences made me a mentally tough person, who will do whatever it takes to overcome obstacles in life. Ever since, I’ve never let anyone tell me that I can’t get to the top. It's the real world that is my hero because it has bent me but has never broke me. Even though they were the decisions made by my mother, I will always say that it was the real world that put me through these trials. It's taught me that no one is perfect, and to this day it remains in the back of my head, reminding me that life is a struggle, and there is always a solution to overcome it.