Althea Smith is raising her teenage grandson.
Althea Smith
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Althea Smith, 62, who is raising her 14-year-old grandson and, until very recently, was caring for her mother. Smith, who lives in Stockton, California, works full-time and has raised her grandson for the past three years. The following has been edited for length and clarity.I don't have any recollection of my father, who was killed in the Vietnam War when I was 3. I was not raised by my mom, who recently died, though she was around. I was raised by my grandmother, whom we called "Big Mama." She was in a wheelchair, but she was a strong woman of faith with great family values.I had my first child two months before I turned 16. I moved out when I was 17 with my ex-husband, with whom I had two children. I didn't really know how to be a parent because I never had a strong male figure in my life. That marriage didn't last long.
My first real job was as a security guard at AppleApple was a small campus at the time. I worked my way up to being a supervisor, but I got fired because I was late for work sometimes. I was also dealing with a drug addiction.I moved in with my mom for the first time at around 20 years old after separating from my husband. It was me, my children, my siblings, my mom, and her boyfriend for a short period of time. After two years, I moved out and got my own place.I tried to reestablish myselfI remarried, though we divorced as well, and had my youngest son. I started working as a cashier at a store in the VA and worked my way up to an administrative assistant role, all without a high school diploma.Because I saw many nursing assistants at the VA, I decided I wanted to help care for people, so I went to school at night and earned my medical assistant certification. I've worked in the medical field for the last 27 years.
