Mama 🐻

Detrice Luana Parham (a.k.a DeeDee) was brought into this world to be my mother on November 7, 1974.

Don’t we look like brother and sister? That’s what EVERYONE has told us for as long as I could remember!

For a period of time in my childhood I even sounded like her HAHA!

It’s all good. I wouldn’t have it any other way. This beautiful woman has been unwaveringly supportive of who I am as a man and my dreams/ambitions from literally day 1...I mean she birthed me after all lol.

But that birth wasn’t an easy one...

My mother is part of the 5-10 percent of women in the United States who has a (nowadays) common hormonal endocrine disorder called Polycystic Ovaries, or PCOS.

What this means in layman terms is that childbearing is extremely improbable for any woman who’s diagnosed with this condition because the eggs rarely grow to maturity let alone produce eggs that can be fertilized.

Guess what though?

She had me and I think I turned out alright if I may say so myself :).

Having gone through that while being homeless the first 2 years I came into this world is beyond admirable and she’ll ALWAYS be given my utmost respect for overcoming those trials in her early adult life.

She’s also overcome domestic and sexual abuse, chronic depression, a shitty divorce and she’s still going strong in her life and career as a Medical Billing & Coding Instructor today at the lovely age of 45.

She’s a spiritual person and has also steadily been this way for as long as I’ve been alive. There were times growing up where I wasn’t the best son or person but she never stopped showing that unconditional love. When I was kicked out of the house at 17 by my adopted father, (I don’t call him that of course because he’s like a real father to me) I made a decision within myself to never turn back...as so I thought.

As stubborn as I can be, especially when I was younger, I was determined to keep looking forward. But I couldn’t do this for long...

Often times I ran into people within the community asking me how I was doing and/or have I seen or spoken with my mother at all. From time to time, while I was out there on the street, we did keep in touch.

A tear comes to my eye as I’m writing this because I’ll never forget those words she said ending every conversation we had during that time, “I’m praying for you baby.”

And those weren’t idle words either.

A year before that, I was 4 hours away from committing suicide by train when she found me just an hour before the first train would come on through those very tracks I sat upon.

She’s saved my life in more ways than one and I owe her EVERYTHING.

I hate dealing with debts of any kind but this is a debt that I have absolutely no problem with.

Mama 🐻, if you ever read this...

Because of you I’ve become the respectable man you always prayed for.

Because of you I’m about to marry the woman of my dreams. The kind of woman that you prayed I would marry.

Because of you I’ve pushed through some of the toughest times in my adult life so far but I know that I still have more life to conquer ahead of me.

Because of you I’m a warrior for my people and every day I strive to represent you in the best way possible in ALL that I do.

Because of you I’ve learned to be vulnerable and open up since you’ve known for the longest how that’s usually been hard for me.

All these factors and more are why I have insurmountable love for you...forever and always ♥️.

Send a “Hello” to Detrice Parham on FB whenever you all get the chance. Be sure to let her know that her baby sent ya ;).