Continued..

    When I was 4 years old, my mother fled. She took us to a cabin in the woods in Willard, Ohio where we stayed for two years. At that time I thought it was a vacation, but now I know it was to hide us from my father who was trying to gain sole custody. My mother was abusive, and she along with her boyfriend would cues me and my siblings psychological and physical anguish. She was on drugs and never cared for hers or our personal hygiene. We lived in a small cabin with no beds, AC, or even a restroom.
     Eventually, we left. And we went back home. My grandmother would take us shopping due to our lack of clothing for school. When we would bring them back, my mother would throw them on the floor for the dogs. She despised my father and everyone associated to him.
     When I was seven, my father gained sole custody. He brought us down to McAllen, Texas where he and his fiancé were living. After they got married, we moved to a bigger house in southern McAllen. Two years passed and my stepmom got pregnant. This caused her to lash out at us and our father. We moved to San Juan, Texas, where we lived for two years more. My father separated from my stepmom and we stayed in San Juan along with him.
     My father eventually met a woman from his job named Anna. She and her daughter lived in Mission, Texas. We would visit them and stay for weeks at a time. Anna was a nice woman who took care of us and spoiled us, she would never yell at us or cause us pain. The only problem however, was she caused my father to start drinking again.

To be continued.....

(this picture was taken by Anna in summer 2011)

My father, was a great man. You could say he was a hero. But he suffered, despite all of his suffering, he remained resilient. My fatter was the strongest person I knew, still is.

Paul Gonzalez, was born on July 8th 1774. He was born to my grandparents Irma Gonzalez, and Ramon Gonzalez. He grew up in a poor family, but he never complained about not having as much as the other kids. He was the tallest out of his two brothers and was usually found intimidating. despite his appearance, he was the sweetest person you would ever learn to know. When he was in high school, he met my mother Deborah Shears. They fell in love and eventually, she got pregnant with my brother Stephen. During her pregnancy, my father left to the army. And when he arrived, he was greeted by his son and wife. Two years passed and they were expecting another child, my sister Asia Marie. My father was stationed in Fort Polk Louisiana. And while my mother was there to visit, my sister was born. He soon left and joined my mother in Ohio where they stayed as a family, it was picture perfect. But things went downhill from there. Four years passed and my mother was pregnant again, this time with me. When I was only 1 year old, they divorced. My father got split custody and would see us on weekends and sometimes weeks at a time. I always preferred my father over my mother. And I believe it is obvious why.

To be continued...
(the picture is of the grave only due to the rules of the cemetery not allowing pictures with the graves)