FAITH, LOVE & DRUGS

THE START

   Ever take a fresh breath of the morning air and think "This will be the last time I will ever do this again."? Yeah, no one ever thinks that and neither did I. The world is a cruel place. It gives you hopes and dreams and then dangles them over your head like a cat pawing at a toy. You may grab it for a second but, it will be ripped away from you shortly. That's the story of my life.

   I was your normal 13 year old girl. I hung out with friends, crushed on cute boys, went to the mall and all kinds of other "regular teenage" things. Of course, unlike most teenage girls, I had to be very cautious with what I did because I was the daughter of the head pastor of our towns church. Not only was he a pastor but, before he met my mom, he was in the United States Army.

   I don't know alot about the Army but, I do know my dad kept some of the rules from his Army days. Every morning, weekend or not, he woke us all up at 5:00am. We had 15 minutes to make our bed, to his standards, brush our teeth, get dressed and be down stairs for breakfast. It would of been alot easier if I wasn't sharing my bathroom with a five year old who hogs the sink.

   My parents had me at a late age due to my parents meeting each other late in life and my mom having problems getting pregnant. My mom was 35 years old when they had me and I was their little miracle baby. Then, 8 years later, my mom had Waylon, the demon child but in their eyes, another miracle baby.

   It was another normal morning with Dad barking orders and yelling for us to hurry. I woke up feeling dizzy in my head and coughing. I felt like my lungs were water balloons ready to burst. I weakly made my bed to Sargent tight ass's standards and laid across the foot of my bed. Not realizing it, I dozed off again. My mom came in and gently shook my shoulder trying to wake me. Compared to my dad, she was the most gentle person in the world!