My Vow

My VOW...

My vow is not built upon what others think of me but what I think of myself.

I have three sons to raise as a single-parent. I am a single-parent. I am a woman. I am black.

I have been labeled a statistic.
I have been told my children will not have the advantages that some others may have and these disadvantages will lead them to jail or a grave.
I have been told that I will not be able to love and mold my children into productive members of society.
I have been told that I will not succeed because so many others have failed.

I have received these categorizations from every side: black, white, male and female. It has not been monopolized by any one group or person.

I will say that the above statements have nothing to do with me as an individual but the "me" that is seen as a part of a whole:

The whole...Black Community
The whole...Singleparent community
The whole...Female community
...and countless other segregated pigeon-holes, opinionated people have placed my outer persona into.

I truly believe everyone is entitled to their own thoughts and ideals, as I am, however if those principles or values are not my own...I do not receive them. These types of differing values are simply statements that hold no real sway in my reality.

You see...my name is Edith and at the end of the day I have nothing to prove to anyone but my children... and for them I will move mountains. (racism, poverty and countless other circumstances that stand in my path)

My sons will know what it is to take responsibilty for their own actions because I teach them.
I will instill in them the joy and desire to learn...to constantly better themselves and to never stop expanding their knowledge.
I will, by example, show them that there is no "The end..." in life but "What's next..." and that each phaze is an opportunity for growth.
I will teach them that giving back means more than words, it means actions.
They will know that being a man means more than making babies and collecting bedpost notches.
Through my life, they know what an honorable woman is...I will demonstrate it everyday, everway and every opportunity.
Ideals that I cannot give them, personally, will be introduced via trusted male role models that I bring into their lives.
I have shown them, by my very deeds, that I do what I say and I say what I do and they will know the power honoring their word.
I will raise my children to be whatever they can dream because they will know they have only the limits they put on themselves.
I will teach them that no one's opinion should define who and what they are.
I will teach them that no human being is perfect or above any other human being.
I will teach them how to rise when they stumble and how to regroup from a fall.
I will show them the value of real friendships and the dangers of materialism.
In short...I will fall back when it is time for them to stand on their own...
AND I WILL WATCH THEM SOAR!!!

I do these things not because I am trying to live up to someone else's expectations, decrees, success rates or opinions but because it is how I want my children to be raised...it is my RIGHT way...my only way.

Nankurunaisa!