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would be better than it had been a few years prior. Their father continued to use heroin and that drug was so overpowering, I did not have a chance at salvaging the relationship. The shackles on his feet would not allow him to be who he was a few years earlier and heroin was in his system. Many times when he was high, his eyes were glassy, he picked at his skin with a razor blade until he bled, his skin smelled of pennies or coins that had been held for a long time, and he sold every possible thing from the home where we lived so that he could to sustain that drug use. We had no money and I was financially struggling as all was sold for drugs except for the bare wood floors. I worked part-time barely making any income and he couldn't work because when he was not high, he was sick. I can remember looking at him one day and asking how long would we be in this situation? I got the response that there was nothing wrong and he was not using drugs or that he could stop using at any time because he could control his drug habit. I didn't know what else to do other than feel helpless and think that one day, I had to leave him, or I could see myself in a far more dangerous situation. I could either be convinced that this was the way to live and live that way; with risking having my children removed from my care, or I could have died overdosing on heroin if I had used it also. I chose not to do ANY drugs and I am thankful to be able to speak about this as those choices made way for who I am today. Since he did not stop using, I ultimately left for the sake of my children's well-being. This was not an easy decision and I was afraid for myself because I did not know if this brought negative consequences. Drugs make people act in ways that they are not able to control their behaviors and I had already been in a situation where he had pulled out a knife on me. In this case, I was mostly scared of what this negative influence would do to my children if I didn't leave him. I was no longer that naïve younger mother who did not know what drugs were and how they had impacted my life. I was not going to give up on my children; on the contrary, I was going to live and fight for them. The seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, and years that went by were a true testament to what happened in my life as a single parent. I became resilient and I overcame those tough moments of having children. There were healthy and sick days, days of long what seemed like never-ending evenings as they played sports such as baseball, football, and lacrosse. Many times, I overworked myself to keep them clean while ensuring that I too was taking care of myself both physically and mentally. Many days I cried and felt overwhelmed! Other times, I was reminded of why I remained a mother as they would say