A single mother with a limited educational background (hence the style of speech she uses as she writes) takes on the responsibility of raising children from a different race than her own.
My name is Jenny Ayers, and I am the mama to six children. Mind you, not just any child, mind you, but children who are not of my own race. I adopted six children of African-American extraction, and they have been nothin' but a blessing to me.
I have six children, four girls (Elizabeth--"Betty"--, Heather, Christina--"Tina"--, and little Mayra, who is the baby of the bunch), and two boys named "Capp" (his real name is Calvin Tyrone, but I have always called him "Capp", ever since I first got him) and Matthew. My children are all Black, as I just said, but they are still my kids by adoption, and I can't imagine my life without any of them. Actually, five are Black, but the youngest one is a mixture of both African Black and Mexican American (Mayra); thought I had better clear that up for you.
I live in Geneva, Ohio, which is east of Cleveland, with my family, and I have built my life around my kids. My kids are all good kids, and all are growing like weeds. I have had most since they were little, but Mayra is my newest one, only have had her for a little under a year now. She came from Texas, and she is a very sweet and loving little girl. My kids are all healthy, but Mayra does have some mental handicaps which make her slow to learn; but she is still a very loving little girl, and she is learning English. (She came to us not speaking a lick of English--she spoke only Spanish--, and it was a challenge; but thanks to English-immersion classes, she is really taking off, and she is learning plenty of new words and is now able to communicate with me and her brothers and sisters.)
Mayra attends school for kids with mental handicaps, and she is learning many new and exciting things, and she is also going to her English school, and she is doing quite well for herself. She is still behind developmentally compared to other seven-year-olds, but she is still a very delightful child who knows how to wrap her little self around my finger.
The other kids are older, but they have since gotten used to having a little kid around, and they are all smart, good, and loving kids. They are the type of kids who will defend a kid who is being picked on, and they are all hardworking, studious, and very smart. They are doing very well in school, and I couldn't be more prouder of them than I am right now. The two oldest--Matt and Capp--both work at an auto mechanic place where they are studying to become car mechanics, and they are loving it. They do this as part of their schooling, and they are right smart boys. The oldest girl--Betty--works, too, but she works part time as a waitress at a Golden Corral not far from our house, and she loves it. She makes really good tip money at her job, and her customers just love her there. So does her boss. Heather is looking for work, but hasn't found anything, but she is still hopeful that she will land a job soon. She has such a good attitude about her, and I know she will do well when she does get a job. Meanwhile, Tina is busy being a typical 13-year-old teenager, and she loves to annoy the fire out of her little sister, which drives me crazy! I keep telling her to stop it, as Mayra is special, but she hasn't yet, and I am about to take a belt to her butt if she doesn't soon quit it! (She is annoying her now; I can hear Mayra screaming in Spanish at her sister, and it doesn't sound like she is very happy at the moment!)
I am a widow; I lost my husband three years ago when he died in a work-related accident at his job; so I have had to take the responsiblity of raising my kids myself, and while it isn't easy, I still do quite well, thanks to SSI and disability pay. (I have degenerative arthritis and walk on forearm crutches, but I otherwise am doing okay. I still can raise my family, and I am very happy right now.) I miss my husband--his name was Charles, or, as I called him, Chuck--, he was very good to me. We had twenty good years together as man and wife, and when he died, my world came crashing down, especially since we had several kids to raise. Remember, Cappy and Matt came to us when they were small; they are the ones we have had the longest. Then came Betty and then Heather and Tina, and now, finally, little Mayra, who is my baby. She never met Chuck, but the boys and the two older girls remember him fondly and still cry at the mere mention of his name. They really miss him, but not nearly as half bad as me.
So there you go. That is the story of me and my family. I hope you enjoyed reading, and I hope you enjoyed getting to know us a little better. I will write more soon, but as I said, I had better seperate the two youngest girls before they wind up killing one another! It doesn't sound like Mayra's screaming is going to let up any time soon unless I put a stop to it!
I will write more at a later date. Until then, goodbye!
~Jenny (Mama to Betty, Heather, Capp, Matthew, Tina, and Mayra).
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Reviewed by Simon Thurlow
3/18/2004
A great story as always Karen. Always a delight to read your writes
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Let this coming of age story of a boy named Bean take you back to a simple time. Set in a small southern town in the 1960's, encircled by a river and gleaming white cotton fields.
My name is Jenny Ayers, and I am the mama to six children. Mind you, not just any child, mind you, but children who are not of my own race. I adopted six children of African-American extraction, and they have been nothin' but a blessing to me.
