Pam Giles-Jones

My mother, Pangerla (Pam) Giles gave birth to me on 7/27/1984.

She was 20 years old.

Sometimes I feel like I ruined my mom's plans:

College. Entrepreneurship. Leadership. World Domination.

Abortion or Adoption would've been the route for some, but not for Pam Giles.

She raised me on her own. My father dropped in here and there, but never enough, leaving a young female in her 20s to take on the roles of mother and father while working multiple jobs to make ends meet.

It was just my mom & I growing up. I remembered living in Towne Pointe Apartments near Olde Towne and then moving in with my grandmother on Rena Ct. in Conyers as a kid. I was a pretty good kid. Never talked back. Never sold drugs. Did what I was told. Grades were horrible, but good enough.

My mom is the epitome of hard work. I've never seen her receive a hand out. Not a food stamp. No child support. Just made it happen. No complaints. Excelled at every job she worked! I remember one Christmas, that I wanted to get my mom a Christmas gift really bad, but I had no money. My mom looked in the newspaper, and found us a weekend job delivering yellow pages in Downtown Atlanta to all of the businesses. This gave me Christmas money to buy her something (which I don't remember) and it instilled in me a work ethic that I just can't shake.

She married Reginald Jones in 93' and gave birth to my sister Raven. We moved to the other side of Conyers to Sugar Hill. It was during this time that me and mom grew apart. Conversations got shorter. Beatings got longer. I spent more time at Velo's and Jack's house than I did my own. I never questioned our relationship growing up. Sometimes I felt unwanted at home which really led to my heavy involvement with Belmont Baptist Church. As I got older, I realized that Mama was doing what she had to do to make me a man. It's a cold world that I was entering and being the lovey-dovey Brady Bunch mother would do me no good in the world.
We never used the "L" word growing up. I'm not sure why that is. I love her to death and she knows it. She loves me to death, and I know it. I guess when something is so evident, why verbalize it? I know it may seem weird to some, but it works for us!

The sacrifices that she made are ones that I could never repay (even though I will try). I never wanted for anything. I always had food on the table (obviously). She kept decent clothes on my back. I always got what I requested for Christmas. She got me braces when she could have purchased a new car. She helped pay my way through college when she could have been traveling the world. I screwed up plenty of times and she never spared the rod and for that I am thankful. I respect her more than anybody on this planet. I wouldn't trade my mother for the world!!

Love you Mama,

Andrickus Giles