Free Till We Meet Again by Sylvia Crim-Brown Page B

my children, was; that he didn’t care about us at all; that I needed help desperately and that I had failed. So I continued to answer Mrs. Humphrey’s intrusive questions while wishing that somehow I could wake up from this nightmare and it would all be over.
     
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    One of the many things my grandparents taught me over the years was the power of prayer. My grandfather, the Lay Reader for our Church, was well known for the length and strength of his prayers…whether it was during grace before a meal or during the “prayers of the people” section of mass every Sunday, you could always feel his heart and the Word of God in his prayers. In addition he spent a lot of time up in the attic in private prayer.
    I also had a friend named Kay who I met through friends shortly after “my escape”. She taught me the power of making a “Wish List.” I had made it a practice and then a healthy habit of praying first thing in the morning just before the boys woke up. I’d start with the Lord’s Prayer; reading a few Psalms, then quiet time with God…trying to hear what He had in store for me. I would then add those things to the list.  At first I saw no movement but as time went on I found myself crossing things off my “Wish List” as my “wishes” came true. One such thing was to have my own place.
    Fortunately when I first contacted our family friend, Shirley, she told me to apply for Section 8. A program that helps pay the rent of a low or no income person. At the time I applied, I thought it wouldn’t be needed. But thank God I listened to her and applied. I was on a waiting list. Five months after “escaping” I received notice that my name had come up on the list and I would receive a Section 8 voucher. Having no idea what that meant I quickly went upstairs and showed Shirley the letter. She was so excited because it was a Section 8 voucher not just regular Section 8. Not knowing one person who had any dealings with that I had no idea what she was talking about. But I quickly learned that it was another blessing the Lord had sent my way. Apparently with regular Section 8, a very small amount was allotted for rent but, with the voucher I had a bigger allotment so I had a bigger budget to play with. This meant I would not have to raise my sons in a poor neighborhood. I would be able to stay in the same small town and practically right around the corner from where we were staying with Shirley. If we could find a house in the area where the landlord would accept the voucher and the apartment passed inspection I would be able to rent the place.
    A month later and just before Aiden’s 1 st birthday I was able to find a house. Shirley came with me to look at the place. But frankly as long as it had electricity and running water I was going to take it. It was an old drab looking gray and white two family house and was the last house on a dead end street surrounded by woods.
    The boys and I would live on the 1 st floor which the landlord just finished renovating. No one lived on the 2 nd floor because it had not been renovated as of yet. The other houses on the street were middle class family homes that were well manicured. My potential house however had a front yard that was over grown with grass and weeds. It looked like it hadn’t seen a lawn mower in years...literally. But since the front yard was not part of the inspection I didn’t care.
    The apartment passed inspection and we were able to move in immediately. It was a two-bedroom apartment. So much bigger than the room the boys and I shared in Shirley’s basement. It had an eat-in kitchen and a living room with a fireplace that was closed up. We had no furniture accept for the boys’ cribs and the TV and VCR my mother had bought us the Christmas before we moved from Long Island. Some friends of mine gave us old living room furniture that they had gotten from someone else. So by the time we got it, there was no stuffing left in the