Narrative

Who would have ever thought that Mary Rodgers, once a well respected business owner and foster mother would have ended up working for a few lousy tips as a waitress, while fighting to regain custody of her own child. One never knows what seemingly simple events in their daily life can alter their life's ambition or direction.

When I first met Mary in 1993 she was a tall, heavy set woman. Quite awkward looking in appearance. She was recently divorced, a foster mother of eight children which she cared for as if they were her own, while also caring for her own two kids.

She ran an aviary which consisted of approximately four hundred and fifty pairs of exotic birds. Taking care of the birds was no small task by any means. Feeding and watering each day would take at least three and a half hours of non-stop work. Not to mention hand feeding the babies, mending old cages, replacing worn perches and nest

boxes. Most of the work was done solely by Mary herself. When she wasn't busy working with the birds she was usually running the children around to appointments at the school, with doctors, or supervised visits with their parents.

In the winter of 1995 just before the heavy breeding season began she decided to move. I and a few other friends helped her move to a larger farm. With the purchase of a larger farm she was more able to accommodate the birds and the many children that she tirelessly cared for.

In the fall, generally the slow season for the birds, she would have more time to herself and to catch up with friends and family. When fall of 1998 came around she was only caring for her children and two foster kids. So, she would let her son Eric who was now sixteen years old, baby-sit the younger kids when she would go out to a cookout or to a local bird club meeting.

Mary while at one of her outings with one of our mutual friends Jennifer Cook, met a man named Mike. Within two weeks he moved in with her. At first everything seemed great. He helped out with all of the daily chores before and after he went to work. He even seemed to be doing very well with the kids.

But, within a few months things began to change. Mike had quit his job to help Mary with her business. Shortly after that her friends started to notice her behavior with everyone had begun to change. The two of them seemed to be isolating themselves from all of their friends. They weren't even spending as much time or attention with the kids as they previously had.

By April of 2001 Mary had completely quit caring for the foster children. Something she had done for the past twelve years of her life. Since Eric was now off to college, They only had Jessica at the age of twelve to care for.

With their attempts to distance themselves from everyone being for the most part successful, I had not talked to or seen Mary for a few years. Until, one day when I happened to run into her in the grocery store. I could see that she had lost quite a bit of weight. With the tired worn out look on her face that I saw she almost seemed like a

completely different person. I tried to start a conversation only to be told that she was in a

hurry and couldn't talk. I was able though to jot