Sooner Than I Thought

By Stacie D. Ellerson

This is a powerful dynamic story of the twists and turns of this courageous savvy author's life's experiences. Stacie provokes passion, pain and compassion with an intense exemplification of power and fortitude. She taps into the depth of our souls and keeps us hanging on page after page with her audacious exuberance. The voracity of Stacie's st

• Language: English
• Publisher: Authors' Tranquility Press
• Release date: Oct 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9781959453512

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Life Growing Up

Lizzie and Eddie Ellerson

As I sit here on this beautiful day on April 26, 2010, I wonder how I got to this point in my life. I have always been the kind of person who wanted things in life: a decent job, a decent husband, a couple of children, and a lovely home, not necessarily with a white picket fence. I would have taken a rusty fence and a decent car. But what woman would not want the best things in life?

As a little girl, I always wanted to be rich. Well, on that note, I can whip my own ass. I was not an educated person, meaning I had no college degrees. Somewhere deep inside of me, I knew that I was going to make it in life. I was determined and headstrong. And what if I were born into royalty? Would I be the caring considerate woman I am, or would I have been like God? Who is God? Pray! What am I going to pray? And heaven, I am already in heaven.

Stephanie, Stacie, Robin

My parents were not educated but both were diligent workers. I can remember when my parents divorced after ten years of marriage. My mother told me she used to tell my daddy, One day I'm going to be free from you, and it won't be in death. And she went on to say, I didn't playhouse with him either. In other words, after they divorced, she did not sleep around with him. That is what I am talking about! Lizzie girl. I can hear you hollering from the graveyard.

My mother had to find a job to take care of us. Even though she had only a tenth-grade education, she was determined to provide for her family. Being able to find only a job doing housework, she would leave home every day, sometimes having to catch three or four buses to get to, and from that job. My sisters and I did not have the best of clothes, but my mother made sure they were clean. When we sat down to eat, we might not have had the best of food, but my mother made sure we were not hungry.

Growing up in life my mother told us things like:

Never let your right hand know what the left is doing.

Always have your own because a little piece of something beat a whole lot of someone else’s!

With a man mad day is coming.

Please keep the lines of communication open.

Rome wasn't built in a day!

Keep your big mouth shut and for me,

Baby, if birth control pills were out, earlier you wouldn't be here!

Back Row: Robin and Stephanie

Center: Father Eddie

Front: Stacie

Most, of these things were, instilled in me. I began to ask myself the questions, What kind of job can I get so that I can make things a little easier on my mother? I knew I could not sing, dance, or act, but I knew I was supposed to have money. I thank God that He did not bless me as a singer because He knew I would have been a fool on that stage, but he blessed me with a story.

When I finished high school, I wanted to get a job to buy a car so that I could take my mother to work, and that is just what I did. I went to a couple of trade schools and finished. I became a Cosmetologist and did hair for a couple of years. However, this was not getting it for me. I had to have more! I was determined and did not give up.

My spirit was still not satisfied, and I wrestled with the thought of how I could make more money. I began to hear talk about becoming a letter carrier and how much money they made. I thought that if I join the military, it would be easier to get the position of a letter carrier, so I did just that. I always felt as if I had to make something happen. I wanted to help my mother so much because of the hard life she had lived and the struggles she bore. I wanted her to stop working because she had done so much for her girls, but that is what mothers do.

I was never a person who kept a journal or a diary. I hated school, reading, or anything associated with school. So, I knew it was impossible for me to receive a bachelor’s or Doctoral Degree. I just hated studying. I must tell it for what it is.

I inherited my mother's determination, independence, strong will, humbleness, and her praying spoon. You see, I was not born with a silver spoon. I was born with a praying spoon, knowing that one day in life it can become the spoon that God intended it to be. Now from my daddy, I inherited his comical side, the big legs, his smile, and major attitude. However, I inherited a decent work ethic from both my parents. On the other hand, I thank God I did not inherit a big nose that both had. Sorry, Mama and Daddy. Well, I inherited the knocked knees on my own!

My sisters and I have our own personalities. My older sister, Robin, should have been a boy. This woman was terrible; she would fight your battles for you. It was not your choice; what she said went. If you told her someone wanted to fight you, all she needed to know was where he or she lived.

My sister Robin gave my mother lip and trouble. And with people she had choice words and ass whippings. This woman was nothing nice, but I loved her for who she was, Robin Elizabeth Ellerson, better known as Too.

My sister Stephanie was different from Robin and me. She had the sweet soft voice. You could barely hear what she said, and when she and my mother disagreed on things, she would walk off and never give my mother lip. Even in confrontations with people, she always said what she had to say without using choice words. She was and is the church-going woman, the brains, and the college material. Hats off to you, my sister!

Now let us talk about me. I gave my mother nothing but lip for whatever she said. I had to have the last word and that was disobedience.

Exodus 20:12 says, Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

I gave people choice words, but for some that was the only language that they could relate to, and yes, I still due to this day.

I would describe myself as full of energy and confidence. Even as a little girl, I knew what I wanted even before I got it. I am determined, focused, and in the words out of my mother's mouth, self-centered. Well, that is how most people perceive me, but that is not how I am. You must get to know me. It is just like reading a book. You cannot judge a book by its cover. You must go inside and read it. You will have to do the same with me.

CHAPTER 2

Life