Читать книгу More than a Miracle - Susan Smith - Страница 9

On Our Own

I was able to rent a little cottage along the lake for a few months. My parents were very supportive and helped me financially until I got a job in September substituting for a teacher who wanted to take a year off because she was having a baby. Fortunately, I managed to make ends meet.

Some of my best friends from high school still lived in Ashtabula. We would go out on weekends. It was like old times. I was so happy to be single again.

Every other weekend, when the boys went to stay with their father, I would make plans to meet friends at Pirates Alley. It was a great place to have a few drinks and dance to live music. My friends, Wynn and Char, were still in town. We were able to get together often.

Those evenings were a much-needed break from ever present mother and teacher duties. I would look forward to those weekends. They played an important part in my ability to develop a new sense of self and independence.

*****

The cottage was only a temporary arrangement. I found a house next to a church and a playground where we had more room and the rent was more reasonable. The following year, I was given a contract to teach at the same school where I had substituted. Raising three young boys, teaching, and getting Nicky and Michael in day care was a challenge. However, I never once was unhappy. I loved being independent. It was a new experience to be able to think for myself and answer to no one.

*****

Occasionally, there were injuries. Three boys can be quite a handful. On the day of Donnie’s first baseball game, I had allowed Nicky to play at the playground adjacent to the field. Mike and I tried to pay attention to the game as Donnie daydreamed in the outfield.

Suddenly I heard children screaming. A terrible feeling of dread overcame me. I ran to the slide and found Nicky unconscious with a dent in his forehead over his eye, which was filling up with blood. One of the children said that he was pushed off the top of the ladder by another boy. I left Donnie and Mike in the care of an acquaintance who would take them to my mother’s house. I carried Nicky to the car, laid him down on the back seat, and rushed to the ER.

He regained consciousness but was very groggy. The doctor sent us home with instructions to watch him carefully. By midnight, he was throwing up and couldn’t stand up. I rushed him back to the ER. After a quick exam, a doctor told me Nicky was going to need to go to a hospital in Cleveland by ambulance. By the time we arrived, he was in a coma. He would stay like that for the next three days. I never prayed so hard in my whole life. I had to dig deep to find the faith that was lying dormant in the depths of my soul. Hour after hour, I begged for his mercy. When Nicky woke, he seemed completely normal. Thank God!

Susan’s Children

Nicky, left. Donnie standing center. Michael on Susan’s lap.