[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Abigail got addicted to Tik, and when her daughter was 4 years old, her mother finally kicked her out of the house. She refused for Abigail to take her daughter along, so Abigail left without her. This made Abigail feel sad, but, but she was also relieved; as she grew up sheltered and didn’t know the ropes on the street, she felt relieved that she didn’t have to expose her daughter to a life that she didn’t even know how to navigate.
Two years later, Abigail found herself pregnant with her son. Abigail arranged with the hospital to give her son up for adoption, directly after birth, as she didn’t want the burden of a child. The day she gave birth, the nurses mistakenly handed her son to her after he was born, and Abigail’s heart melted. After holding her son, she just couldn’t get herself to give him away. It was very hard to raise him, though, because life on the road wasn’t easy for a single addict-mother. A couple of years later, Abigail was sent to prison, and her father took over the care of her son from that point.
When Abigail’s daughter was 12 years old and her son 6 years old, she finally broke free from the hold that Tik had on her. Abigail had no idea what to expect when she was about to reconcile with her children again; she wondered if her children would hate her for leaving them. To Abigail’s absolute surprise her children was very understanding and didn’t harbor hate towards her. He children did ask her A LOT of questions and it took time for her to prove to them that she is not going to disappear again.
For Abigail the entire journey back into motherhood was hard, because she had no idea how to be a mother. Abigail attended parenting classes at The Parent Center and did a lot of brainstorming with facilitators at U-turn. Slowly she learned the ropes of parenting and established a workable rhythm in raising her kids.
It was stressful for her to take full responsibility for her children again, as it is emotionally and financially demanding to be in the role of a single mother. But Abigail would encourage every ‘returning’ mother to stick it through. She says, “I promise it would be worth it, because being a mother is the most wonderful privilege.”
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