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MARINA.. PRINCESS OF THE COAST.
It all started when my parents had problems conceiving. They had been married for about five years with no child. They kept trying for a child. My mom had two miscarriages, and after that she did not conceive. It was a cause of concern for her, because she didn’t want to fall out of favor with her inlaws. It was hard to be married to my dad’s family and not give them any children. Her mother-in-law hinted at bringing in a second wife. She said it during one of her welfare visits.
“If you cannot conceive and give me grandchildren, let my son marry another wife. I cannot have two men living in the house,” her mother-in-law told her.
My mom was upset. The fact that she was unable to have kids was not good reason for her mother in law to call her a man. She cried all night. Her husband could not comfort her. She also cried because he did not stand up for her in the presence of his mom. She felt humiliated.
A week later, she visited one of her cousins who had just returned from Haiti on a Missions trip. Her cousin Stephanie was highly spiritual, and she decided to ask for help.
“I am tired of being called a man living with a man in my own home,” my mom lamented to Stephanie.
