Mama's Baby Girl

By Yoshunnah Woods

Life as an unwed teen mother wasn't easy especially raising my daughter whom at the age of six years old was diagnosed with an intellectual disability and later in life, diagnosed with a mental illness.

At this point in life I questioned my faith in God and was ready to just give up on my dreams, of pursuing a degree, but in the midst of this storm I realized God was walking with my daughter and I through the storm, he knew the path that lied ahead for us and gave us light through our dark path.

With family and friends support I decided to dream big despite the circumstances in our life. I managed to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Information Management. I became certified as a Registered Health Information Administrator. I currently work for one of the top hospitals in the state of Tennessee.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: May 25, 2022
• ISBN: 9781644621813

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Mama's Baby Girl

Yoshunnah Woods

Copyright © 2018 Yoshunnah Woods

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2018

ISBN 978-1-64462-180-6 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-64462-181-3 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Late Night Phone Call

Chapter 2

Breaking the News

Chapter 3

Senior Year

Chapter 4

The Arrival of Baby Girl

Chapter 5

Milestones

Chapter 6

Day Care

Chapter 7

Red Flags

Chapter 8

Kindergarten

Chapter 9

New School

Chapter 10

Evaluation

Chapter 11

New Beginnings, New School

Chapter 12

Meeting with Teacher

Chapter 13

Middle School Relocating

Chapter 14

Final Years of School

Chapter 15

The Finish Line

About the Author

Chapter 1

Late Night Phone Call

It was a school night and I was preparing to go to bed. My mom and dad were asleep, and my younger sister was asleep in her bed as well. My older siblings were away at college, and I was preparing for bed. I decided to turn off all the lights in the house before lying down to sleep. There was complete silence throughout the house. All of a sudden, the phone started ringing really loud so I quickly ran to the phone to see who it was before my dad woke up to question me about who was calling his house so late. He was very strict on his kids. I can picture him coming outside of his room with his stocking cap on his head and a huge frown on his face. And with his black slippers on, yelling outside the room, Who is that calling my house this late at night. So before that would happen, I rushed to the phone to make it before the phone rang for the second time. It was Denise on the phone, my childhood friend who I've known since fourth grade. Denise was a person who I simply couldn't figure out in life. Since I've known her, she has stayed with her grandmother. As a child growing up rarely, from what she told me, saw her mother. I don't think she ever knew her dad and her only sister whom she really adored stayed out of town with her husband. Denise was rebellious growing up as a child. She ran away she didn't obey her grandmother, she did the opposite of what her grandmother told her. In my eyes she wanted love from her mother and didn't get it. She acted out by sleeping around with so many guys to feel the love she didn't receive from her mom.

Denise: Shun, what are you doing?

Me: Girl I'm heading to bed to go to school in the morning, like you should be. She started laughing.

Denise: Yeah, you are right, I was wanting to know if I could come over to your house for a while I'm around the corner I will be there shortly I got into an argument with my friend.

Me: Girl, what are you doing in the dark fixing to walk over here this late. Now you know my parents are asleep, and if I especially wake up my dad, it's going to be trouble for me, but I guess you can come over.

Denise: OK girl, I will be there soon. So I sat nervously waiting for her.

I heard a soft knock on the door, I quickly went to the door and slowly opened it, trying hard not to make any noises that would wake my parents. When I opened the door, I quickly stepped outside and saw a car and said (talking softly in a whispered voice), Girl, I thought you told me you were walking over here.

Denise: And I was walking over here, until I decided to get in the car when this dude approached me on the side of the road asking if I needed a ride over here.

Me: Girl, are you out of your mind? He could be a killer, or rapist, you never know.

Denise: "I wanted to know if you wanted to go riding around with us."

Me: What? You only told me that you were coming over here, you didn't discuss with me about riding around in a car with strange dudes we don't know.

Denise: I know, Shun, but they were wanting to take us for a ride.

Me: No! No! No! I'm not going at all.

Denise: Please, Shun! Please! It will be fun.

Me: I guess so. Only this time. Let me run in here and throw some clothes on right quick. Don't make no noises out here because you know how my dad is. He will be acting a fool if he catches me up sneaking to go off with you somewhere this late.

Denise: "OK, I won't make any noises.

So I quickly rushed to my room, going as fast as I could without making any noises that would wake anyone. My heart was beating extremely fast, as I realized more about what I was doing and the type of trouble I could possibly get into hanging with them or getting caught by my dad. I thought to myself, what if I come back and my dad is sitting in the living room waiting on me to come back in. What excuse could I tell him to keep him from discipline me? Oh my God, this is just too much to be thinking about at this time. I managed to put on my clothes and shoes without passing out from worrying about the trouble that I could possibly get myself in.

I finally made it out the door and turned around to push the door up to lock it quietly. Then I proceeded to tiptoe off the porch to prevent the wooden porch from squeaking too loud. Once I reached the last step, I hit the concrete sidewalk walking fast to the car. There were so many alarms sounding off in my head about the trouble I would be in if my parents only knew. I made it out of the gate and turned to latch it, and before long I stepped into this long white Lincoln car. She hopped in the front seat, and I hoped in the backseat and gently sat down. I noticed maroon leather seats I sat right beside this light-skin guy that I rode the school bus with. I spoke and said hello, and he replied, Hey. I noticed he was also smoking and sipping on Crown Royal liquor. He was very much in his own world at the moment. My instincts were saying, I'm going to kill her if we make it out this car alive.

The driver of this car was a brown-skin guy, tall and very social. He asked me and Denise where we want to go, and she said, Riding around. I chose not to say much because I was angry with her and myself at the moment thinking about the choices that Denise and I made and the negative consequences that could take place due to our actions. He drove down the hill of my street and stopped at the stop sign and continued driving and before long we were at the gas station/liquor store. The guy in the backseat with me hopped out the car and started talking a lot with another guy outside of the car. I noticed once he started talking with whom he was talking to that he was a very friendly guy I thought surely this guy isn't this friendly and free-spirited. Then I thought maybe it's due to him being high. I had no clue. There was something about his presence at the moment that attracted me to him. After we left the gas station, we headed over to the south side of town. We pulled up in the projects, got out of the car, and were standing around in the dark. Pretty much everyone was talking except me. I was shy and stayed to myself with nothing to say. I noticed Denise and her friend, the one she was talking with in the front seat of the car, getting frisky with each other. The next thing I know they were heading in the house together, which told me they were headed in the house to have sex. So now I was left outside, not knowing anybody and just standing there looking crazy at everyone else. A few minutes went by and I asked the guy in the backseat if he could get his friends keys to take me home. He went into the house and asked his friend for the keys. It was a long awkward ride home from the south side of town to the east side of town. We didn't converse and thank God for the radio going in the car. We were almost at my house, about two blocks away, and I started thinking about what a great guy he could possibly be. He didn't come on to me or disrespect me in anyway while driving me home, I was thinking maybe I should give him my number to see if there's something between us. He pulled up to the house, and I turned my body toward him and said, Do you want my number? And he said, Yes, and