GRAND Magazine - July/August 2017 - 33

raising your grandchild

Becoming Mom at 65

How does a mother walk out on her infant for a stupid drug?
BY SANDY MUSSER

I received a call from a local cab driver who knew of
her general whereabouts; our inquiries took us to an exact
location. She looked thin, straggly, unkempt, sad. She cried
when she saw me and begged for help. I brought her
home, cleaned her up and let her know she would not be
out of my sight until this innocent little child was born.
A few months later, in July 2004, a gorgeous little blond,
blue-eyed baby boy popped into the world and filled my
heart with joy. I had no doubt that this little guy was going
to change his mom's life in a very positive way and that her
"partying" days would surely be over forever.
That "forever" lasted six weeks! Crack held much more
allure than her little baby son. I didn't get it then, and I'm
still struggling with it now. What goes through one's mind
when the decision is made to walk out on a newborn for a
stupid drug? I could only pray each day for her safe return.
But days and weeks went by before I realized that she
wasn't coming back and that I needed to take steps to
assure permanency for my little great-grandson. This child's
life was now in my hands.... [Click here to read more.]
For information and resources on raising grandchildren
click here

I

'm standing at my front door
saying good-bye to my second
grader, Chastin, as he hops on his
bike. He's riding two doors down
the street where my neighbor will
transport him to school with her
own children. I will then pick them
up in the afternoon. There's nothing too unusual about this scenario.
The major difference is that I'm his
73-year-old great-grandmother
whom he calls Mom.
As he takes off on his bike, I yell
for him to have a great day. He was
diagnosed at age 3½ with ADHD,
so I give him as much encouragement as I can. While I feel extremely
blessed to have him in my life, in my
wildest imagination I never thought
I'd be raising another child this late
in life. How in the world did this
happen?
I had no clue at the time that four
years prior to his birth, his mother
(my granddaughter) had made the streets her home and met the
love of her life-its name was crack!
I learned of her pregnancy early in 2004. Knowing there
was a little child growing inside who was blood of my blood-
my great-grandchild-immediately drove me into action. The
33 GRAND

JULY AUGUST 2017

computer and printer became my avenue for trying to track her
down. Within a few days, flyers were printed, nailed to poles and
distributed to convenience stores and gas stations all over "crack
town" and surrounding areas. The mission was to save this innocent baby.

Sandy Musser is an author and the CoCoordinator of Grandparents Raising
Grandchildren in Cape Coral, Florida. This
article was originally published in the
September/Oct 2012 edition of GRAND

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - July/August 2017