New Orleans Latch Key Kids “Buses, Streetcar & Keys”

We were raised to appreciate the cultures that make New Orleans so eccentric and magical. When My Mama and Daddy was off they really made up for the time they spent away from us, especially My Mama. We frequented festivals, art museums, parks, fancy restaurants (I started eating raw oysters at 6yrs old) and random walks through the city. Even though we were raised Baptist, we visited churches of different denominations. Both my sister and I played the violin and other extracurricular activities. I was an honor roll student throughout high school. Yes, Growing Up in New Orleans as a Latch Key Kid in New Orleans riding on the Bus was was tough and scary at times, but knowing that I we were left alone for a greater purpose made it worth it. Continue reading New Orleans Latch Key Kids “Buses, Streetcar & Keys”

Chronic illness, Health, Memoir

Adult Child Estrangement and Reconciliation

Before hearing about Partners In Partners in Policy Making or anything relatively close to it, all I knew about advocating for children was my mother’s lioness-like attitude regarding us. She barely had to use her roar to speak up for us. I attempted to find my inner lioness once I became a mother, but it did not come easily. First, I was shy and filled with the guilt of bringing a medically fragile child into this world at such a young age. Second, I was hard on myself and self-conscious because of how others viewed me. I wish I had it in me to speak up for myself at the time, but I did not have the necessary tools to do so. Finally, a life experience would present itself to provoke my inner lioness. Continue reading Adult Child Estrangement and Reconciliation