The State's Child

Years 1-3:

Ok so I don't remember much about my early years as I was just a baby but I do remember some things. To begin with Sharon and I lived in a shelter until I was about 2 because Sharon was a crack-head and would spend all of her money on dope. When I was 3 Sharon and I were able to move out of the shelter and move into a cheap but effective apartment. I only have one memory of that place because we only lived there for a short while. The only thing I really remember is the reason we got evicted from our housing. One day I was playing around and Sharon was taking a nap I decided to turn on all the faucets in the apartment and I flooded the whole vicinity! Yes I know, I was an awnry little girl wasn't I? Anyways after that little stunt I pulled we had to move in with my Grandparents in Bullhead Arizona. I remember a lot of Elvis in that house because my Grandfather was an Elvis impersonator at the Lake Havasu Casinos. For a short time I was a normal child for about three months. The next event I remember is a loud knock on the door of my grandparents trailer apartment. I have flashes of being pried from my grandmother's arms and dragged into a police-type car that read C... P... S! (I now know it stood for child protective services but at the time I was petrified) I was only allowed to take three belongings with me this consisted of my white tiger stuffie, an orange sippy cup with a tabby cat on the side filled with apple juice, and a pink and green two-toned blanket my grandmother had knitted for me previously. I spent about 8 months in foster care before Sharon managed to get me back. I hated it because all we would eat was corn dogs. I say we because there were two other children in the house with me, another girl who was 5 and The foster parent's biological son who was about 11 or 12. Her son loved to play dolls with us and he would tuck us in at night, sometimes he would even read to us. The foster parents were really lazy and didn't spend much time with us I'm guessing they weren't the nurturing type.