Now we have Bessie Hudgins, better known to her 15 grandchildren and around the world as MeMa. Bessie is also, in her spare time, the executive director of Three Sides to Every Story, Inc., Stand Up Grand Parents and Roar (SUGAR) and The Senior Citizens Organization for Parental Equality (SCOPE).
As I laid my speech aside in order to share the podium with my granddaughter, I have never felt such an enormous amount of pride as I felt when she and I stood together...looked the world in the face...and explained exactly what our system is doing to our nation's children of divorce. God Speed everyone and please take the time to look around you and see if there might be a child in crisis over a ruling handed down from a system that is the best money can buy.
My Journey
By
Christy Dawn McCurry
My journey began one Sunday afternoon. I had spent the weekend with my dad and we had a blast... he brought me home a little late because I really didn't want to go... when we pulled up in the drive way… my step dad and mom were both waiting at the door. I was rushed out of the truck... and quickly taken to the house. I stood at the door watching my step dad yell and point his finger at my dad... a few days later I was told that I would not be allowed to see my dad anymore... I really wasn't told why.
I really didn't understand because my dad was my best friend and I knew he loved me... nothing else was really said about it for a few weeks… when I would bring my dad up in a conversation my mom would change the subject... when I would ask to talk to my dad my mom would simply say he doesn't want to talk to you... as a young child this would crush me because to me this made no sense... my life went on and everyday I would wonder why it had to be this way.
About a year later my mom and step dad sat me and my sisters down to talk to us... life as I knew it was about to change... this is when my step dad brought up the adoption... all I could do was cry. I wasn't really sure what to think... I knew my dad loved me but not to sure why he left.
A week or two after the talk about the adoption I sat down with my mom and asked her some questions... my biggest one was why didn't my dad want to see me any more and all she would say is because you girls are not what he wanted. I asked why and she said that he would rather have boys... so the next few nights I just cried... I knew that it couldn't be true, but I didn't know what to do to find out the truth.
One weekend I was at a family member’s house checking my MySpace... and I came across a young boy that looked a lot like someone I knew but I couldn't figure out who he was… so I messaged him and asked... do I know you..? His reply was yes, I'm your brother... I was very shocked and scared I wasn't sure what to do or say… so I got off the computer and thought about things very hard. I talked to my best friend to see what I should do... I finally decided to get back on the computer and message him again... this time I asked how my daddy was... and he told me he would get him so I could talk to him... I talked to him a little but not much because I was scared... I finally got off… and didn't talk to him again for a while... till one night I was at another family member’s house... I saw that he was online so I messaged him... we both got on instant messenger and we talked… this is when I began to find out the truth about it all... my dad really did love me and now I knew it... we talk all night and half of the next day... till I went home.
I finally made the decision I want to see my dad so I sat my mom down and told her... she just wasn't hearing it so she had my step dad to talk to me about it… he asked me if there was anyway he could take my dads place... I said no and this made him very upset... well I continued to talk to my dad every chance I got… and one day I found myself on my MeMa's door step with my sister Jennifer by my side... I talked to my dad and spent a little time with them… then I headed home... on my way home I was very sick… I talked to my dad the whole time just wishing he was there... when I arrived home my step dad talked to me and then I went to bed. The next day I stayed out of school because I was sick... my mom had to work and I had no one to stay with... so me and my sister asked her if I could stay with my MeMa she started to yell saying never… and over her dead body... so finally she stayed out of work with me... later that day when my sister got home she told me she had made up her mind that she wanted to move in with my dad... we then told my mom... she was very unhappy... she did not want this to happen... a few days later we went to court to see about grandparents rights for my MeMa.
We were not granted them at that time... but about a week later my mom told me and my sister Jennifer that she was letting us move in with my MeMa. I was so excited... and that next Saturday she took us to my MeMa's and put us OUT… since then I have found out how much they truly love me... MY
LITTLE SISTER KELLY IS STILL HAVING TO FIGHT THE BATTLE AND I HOPE THAT ONE DAY SHE WILL BE HERE WITH US WHERE SHE BELONGS...the last few months I have been thinking a lot about life and I have decided that I want to become a lawyer... so that I can help young children that are going thru what I had to go thru... and since it hurt me so bad I don’t want any other child to feel this pain... |
