The Most Important Part Of My Life

My story isn't quite special really, although I have lived under some unique circumstances. My mother was a single parent raising my little sister and I until she married my Stepdad in 2007. I was five at the time and had no father figure until then. From that time on he became my dad. Our new family moved twice before living in a small city where we stayed for 6 years. This is where I made close friends, achieved academic excellence, went to church regularly, life was great or so I thought. What seemed to be our perfect life was turned upside down as hard times fell upon us. I was now the oldest of five younger siblings, my mom wasn't healthy, and my dad had to struggle to keep things going.

This pregnancy began with many nausea and sadness. I went to my doctor every month for my routine check ups. When I had four moths pregnant the doctor sent me to do a sonogram and that day the doctor informed that my baby was a girl I could not believe it. That day I was the happiest mother in the word I because I was waiting for that little girl since my first pregnancy. I thought I would never be able to have a girls because in my family were more boys than girls. For me I felt that I was dreaming, so I did not tell my husband any thing about the baby’s gender. My husband was helping me with my other two children helped in the housework, gave me massages, and he spoiled me with special meals.

The weeks that followed were very difficult. My mother ended up changing her hours at work so she could visit my father in the hospital. On the weekends my mom would spend from Friday when she got home from work, to Sunday night in the hospital. I have an older brother and a younger brother; they are lazy most of the time, so the only help I got was from my grandmother. Unfortunately, my older brother wasn’t present for three weeks for certain reasons, which left my ten year old

In October of 2012 my son was born. I put my plans on hold and focused on providing for him. I wanted him to have everything I had as a child. My mother worked day and night when I was younger. I can still remember holidays where she'd wake up at the crack of dawn just to prepare a full feast and go to work that afternoon. I knew the importance of sacrifice and hardwork. I also wanted my son to experience the chance to have his father around. I wanted it so bad that I endured two long years of mental and

Everything is perfectly fine, everything is great, then one day it all comes crashing down and shattered pieces are left. My life would never be the same but I guess change is for the best and it forced me to become the person I am today. It’s rough to be the oldest child, especially when your mom is diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and you have 3 younger sisters that look to you for comfort when their mom can’t be there. When the cancer is spread throughout your moms body doctors can’t just get rid of it no matter how badly you wish they could. Rounds of chemotherapy only slow it down, yet it’s still there a lurking monster waiting to reappear at any given moment. Nothing can even begin to describe the fear I felt, and still have to deal

By the sixth hour, my mom had already contacted a pastor and he was at the house as well. We all cried together and prayed as a unit. Surprisingly, my sisters were sad, but they were also strong with me. We all had to sit and talk to the children about what was going on. They could see and hear everyone in the house, but no one had sat down to talk with them. I had also notified my best friend Nicole, she was so good with words to. I had asked her to sit with us to explain to the kids. While we were trying to get the kids situated to talk, we saw it was going to be impossible with the little ones. So we took the big kids only, Theo, Junior, Dajah, AnaRosa, Isaiah, TJ, Mikala, Janecia, and had a long talk.

is important to me and my goals was the event of the birth of me twins, Carolynne and Carter, on

I was always with other people’s children and now I was going to have one that will be here with me every second of the day. I was not able to give this one back; this child will not be with me for a small duration of time this child will be with me forever. I knew I had to make sure my child will be well-rounded. Meaning that he or she will have compassion for others, create and maintaining an academic foundation and possessing values. I had to make

I am a mother of three beautiful children. I would do anything to make them healthy and happy. They all deserve to live a happy life, filled with joy and wonder. That’s what my husband and I promised each other the moment I held my first child in my arms. The only way to be happy was by blending in with society. It also didn’t help that my husband and I were in debt. Once we bought our new home, we both had a goal to get out of our debt, and the only way to do that was working hard to earn money.

When I had my son via emergency cesarian I was not prepared for what the recovery time would look like. Sleeping on the couch for the first week because I couldn't lift myself onto my bed. Trying to find a comfortable nursing position that would allow my sore belly some breathing room while also staying as close to my brand new baby as possible. Don't even get me started on trying to clean the house or make myself lunch. It felt impossible and the idea of my husband going back to work a week after our son was born felt like a threat. At the time I had no idea what a postpartum doula was, but If I did I would have hired one.

Looking back through my life, i have realized my mother has taught me the most. The one who means the most to me, the one person that has been the absolute best she can be for me and our family, always. The strongest most wise human being i know has been in my life since day one, which i am forever grateful for. “The happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything.” This quote is something my mom has always lived by and taught her kids at a young age. We weren’t rich, didn’t have everything we needed at times but we always had our family and love that went all around, which was enough for us.

In December of 2008, my wife and I found out we would be having our fourth child. We were living in Sugarloaf Key, FL while I worked in Key West, FL. Due to some unforeseen circumstances with our landlord, we terminated our lease in Sugarloaf early, rather than finding a place for the remaining six months we would be there. We moved the family back home to North Carolina over the Christmas break from school. I still had six months or so remaining before I transferred to my new job in Tybee Island, GA. The military had moved us before, being a military family moving was a bitter-sweet occurrence. The family adjusted well and settled right in. Having family close by to help ease this transition helped out greatly. The fourth addition to our family was developing on schedule, regular doctor visits, and checkups. We decided that he would be born in NC since my wife was comfortable with the doctor she was already seeing. The estimated delivery date also worked with my work schedule and being home for the birth.

When I reflect on what matters the most to me I begin to look at what gives me a sense of purpose. Family, country, and believing in myself is what gives me that purpose and is what matters to me. I feel these characteristics are in the make-up of my DNA and what drives me day to day. If I were to pass away tomorrow, I feel in retrospect that I would not have any regrets because I live everyday with the mantra of family first, country second, and believing in myself.

Although I gained the knowledge to be a more stable and positive individual, something was still missing in my life. The missing piece soon fell into place upon the birth of my twin boys, Irijah and Isaac. A multiple birth was a miracle within itself. It seemed unreal because no one in my family was ever blessed with two babies. Although it took a lot of adjustment, we made it through the baby period. The hard part did not come until they became toddlers. (During this time), I noticed complications (in the development) (of the twins). I soon learned that although they were perfect on the outside my boys were suffering with autism. Irijah is severely autistic while Isaac’s is mild. I knew that in order to conquer this obstacle, changes would have to be made. In the beginning I was unaware of what needed to be done, but I never gave up. I continue to fight for my boys and struggle to keep my sanity. This has been the toughest fight of my life because it involves a series of changes. These changes dealt with acceptance, transition, and adaptation. These were necessary steps because it gives the boys a chance to lead a somewhat normal life. Through the love of my sons, I have learned to adapt to change and have gained strength and perseverance that is necessary in life.

I love books because my books love me back . In moments of distress literature guides me. When I am heavy hearted, I turn to my favorite novels, they reassure me that even in the worst situation good fate always wins . When I am lonely, I reacquaint myself with the safe and familiar characters that I have grew to love. When I am happy, I smile because I have lived the lives of warriors, enchantresses, and even the commonday person. Although the emotional connection between literature and myself is imperishable, there was a time in my life when that bond was nonexistent. However, for one to understand the significant impact stories have had on my life, one must know my life. Thus this story begins with my childhood. A conventional upbringing of sorts but of course my childhood doesn't begin with me. It begins with my parents. My parents met each other at high school when they were fourteen years old . Call it destiny, or mere luck, this one cue meet would define their lives for the next twenty two years. My parents fell quickly and passionately in love. Their devotion for one another as an imminent as their fallout, however, we are not there yet. We are at the bittersweet moments of young love. The moments that make one believe in eternity although these moments themselves cease to last just as long. My parents own version of forever welcomed a young little girl named Nicte Impala Perez on March 18th 1998. In that moment, my parents believed that the three of us could defeat