Looking Through Mom's Eyes
A sixâ€"yearâ€"old girl was taken from her mother and put in a home separate from the rest of her family. They were placed in four different homes across Texas. The houseparent told the younger children, who didn't know anything, that their parents were dead. Elizabeth was nine months old; Brandy, who looked like their momma, was three years old; and James was two years old that. But the eldest girl was six, and she told them their momma was alive but their daddy was dead. When the houseparents found out she told the younger kids the truth, she got beat until she was made to take it back, and it took a few times, but they finally gave up and told them to not listen to her. She was a liar. Then their mother found out where they were. She began to write letters. The house lady hid them and never gave the kids anything. Then one day their momma, their brothers Sam and Robert, and their cousin came to visit. Elizabeth wanted to know what their mother looked like, and she was told to look at Brandy, who looked like her. Their momma had gained a lot of weight, but her face was the same. She was glad to spend the day with the kids, but they had to leave later that evening, and that broke their hearts as they waved goodbye once more.
-- Iris Powell