Latoya Giles
Bio
I'm just a single mom tryna make it. Come with me on my journey through life in writing... "A dream deferred is not a dream denied"
Stories (79/0)
Dear Grandma
Dear Grandma Delois, OMG! I miss you so much, let's start. How are you grandma? What's it like up there? Are there any crystal stairs? Clouds everywhere? I do wish you were still down here. Just being honest. You got to meet my oldest daughter. She was eight when you went away. Guess what? I had another baby. I have two girls now, you missed her by about a year. I did the math, I got pregnant with her on Halloween. Next July, she was here. You know what, I have something to ask because I wanna know. What happened that day? The day you had to go. They said the cause of death was a heart attack. By "they", i mean the hospital and doctors. Is it true? You were lying on the floor near the phone. Reaching for the phone to call for help, is that what you were trying to do? A small amount of blood was found near by. It was ruled natural causes, so no autopsy. But why? Yes you took a beta blocker, but did you have serious heart problems before? Less than a year in North Carolina before you died. So many tears we cried. Here in Baltimore you were good. It has been 9 years. I still can't read the obituary. I cry too much. I'm still sad you left me, left us. I love you so much. You mean the world to us, to me. I will see you again, until then, continue to rest in peace...
By Latoya Giles 12 months ago in Poets
An Open Letter to Society
To Whom it May Concern, As a whole, America has come a long way. We have grown a lot the past to today. Slavery is always the elephant in the room. We are not allowed to speak on it. The subject is taboo. It happened, it is a part of our history. There's nothing we can do. I am a black woman, so slavery is a part of my life. My ancestors are majority black, a small handful are white. I visited the very plantation my ancestors lived on. I saw the living quarters, cotton fields, and so on. Small, dark and cramped are the adjectives I used while I was there. It is so unfair. But the past is the past, right?
By Latoya Giles 12 months ago in Poets
Dear Me
Dear Latoya, How are you my dear? What are you up to now? It's been years. I have been wanting to talk to you for so long. I wanted to catch you before life did you wrong. I been here all along...but silent. Maybe I should say I was SILENCED. By who? Don't know. They covered my mouth tight and refused to let go. enough about that mess tho. I am here now. Who am I right? I'm sure you want to know. I don't really have a name. I am your younger self, so I guess our names are the same. Hello Latoya.
By Latoya Giles 12 months ago in Poets
#SingleMomChronicles: Mom Guilt
I have had "mom guilt" many times over the course of my parenting alone. I just never knew it had an actual name. So what exactly is "mom guilt"? Well, the online dictionary defines it as: "the name given to the feelings of guilt women experience in relation to their children. Mom guilt comes from an unrealistic ideal of a perfect mom.". That is a great way to describe it.
By Latoya Giles 12 months ago in Viva
#SingleMomChronicles: Child rearing/ Discipline
Parenting does not come with an instruction manual. I mean, there are a lot of books on parenting, but it's usually a bunch of generalizations and blanket statements in. As a mother, you just do the best you can and hope you did a great job. Now, as a single mother, I have in the past and still currently overcompensate for the absence of my daughter's fathers. I often over-indulge them. Whatever they wanted, I got it. If I couldn't afford it at that moment, I would sacrifice things for myself. Naturally, as a result, my children developed an aversion to the word "no". Yes, I sugar coated it. I don't really like to use the word "spoiled".
By Latoya Giles 12 months ago in Families
#SingleMomChronicles: Me Time
Hey mamas! On this episode of #SingleMomChronicles, we are gonna talk about: ME TIME. It is difficult as a parent to get time alone. As a single parent? Alone time is pretty much non-existent. I found myself becoming extremely overwhelmed all of a sudden. As the only adult in the house, everything lands on my shoulders. Whenever my children need anything, they come to me, of course. I have to cook, clean, help with homework, give advice and pep talks, be a listening ear, ect. I have a 17 year old daughter. She has generalized and social anxiety and depression. She has abandonment issues from her father leaving her as a child. She has mixed emotions about him raising his other kids but not being there during her childhood. She talks to me about all of those things. I have to sift through her mental and emotional stuff while attempting to sort through my own. I still gotta work somewhere to make money to live day to day. That is a heck of a lot for one person. I got to the point where I was sitting on the toilet in the bathroom with the door locked at midnight crying my eyes out. I mean ugly crying with the snot and the stuttering sobs. I would cry whenever I was in my car alone as well. That is no way to live. Something had to change, and change soon.
By Latoya Giles 12 months ago in Viva
#SingleMomChronicles: Travel Edition
As a single mother, I have a plethora of responsibilities. Since I am the "active" parent, that makes me the Sole caregiver to my children. I have two beautiful daughters. Anything that a married couple would take care of together ( mortgage/rent, utilities, food, ect), I have to do alone. Please don't think I am complaining. I do the thing, ok? So, I ended up losing my job a few months back. My oldest daughters dad (yes, I have two baby daddies) is court ordered to pay child support. I am supposed to get $85 a week, $330 a month. Well, in November of last year, he stopped paying. I guess I can say he didn't stop on purpose. The payments stopped because his unemployment ran out. He doesn't work because he and his wife (yup, baby daddy number 1 is married now) have a special needs infant, so he stays home with her (supposedly) during the day while his wife works. Now, let me clarify: I did not say "supposedly" because I am hating or jealous...trust me. I said it because our parents live on the same street. I can stand on my parents porch and see his parents porch. Because of this, I can see when he drops his daughter off at his moms house many days. Presumably so he can run the streets. I honestly don't know and quite frankly, it is none of my business.
By Latoya Giles 12 months ago in Wander