Chapter 3: Growing up in a Singleparent Family Home

Despite the reluctance, inconsistent presence, and eventual absence of my biological father, my mother and two older brothers were overjoyed when I took my first breath of air. Born, raised and educated in predominantly middle class neighborhoods in South Phoenix, I grew up feeling financially secure since my only comparisons were the seemingly different surroundings of my cousins’ Section 8 and project homes, which always felt uncomfortable to me. However, that comfort lasted only for the several years that my mother was married to my stepfather. Soon after their divorce, we played the moving game several times before returning to our first house that had been significantly worn down from neglect by nearly every member of my mother’s family. All six of my aunts and uncles with all of their children had lived in my mother’s house at some point in their life, and now we had to move back into our old home that no longer looked nor felt the same. I often felt unhappy and did not appreciate being forced to share my space and toys with my cousins who often ridiculed me for having a bit more than they did and being a “goody two shoes.”