Goodfellows: Family Drove To Houston In Search Of Peace

IN her own words, in her own time, Cynthia Nelson told her own story.
With two kids to look after and in an abusive relationship, it was time to leave.
'When it came time to end it, I made several attempts to get out of the relationship,' Nelson said. 'Finally, I decided the best way to get out was to get out of the area. So, we put everything in our truck, and we packed up and left.'
Her older daughter could sense the urgency. 'It was frustrating seeing my mom go through that, and she didn't deserve it,' said Teliah Winters.
The Chicago-area transplant and her daughters, Teliah, 14, and Rhyki Winters, 4, arrived in Houston in September 2006.
Two years later, the family is in a much happier place, in a northwest Houston apartment complex, and preparing for the holidays.
'I knew something would happen good,' Teliah said. 'We got things together here.'
While Rhyki entertains thoughts of a new puppy for Christmas, Teliah is more circumspect, seemingly happy just to see her mom smiling and at peace. Nelson said it won't be easy spending the holiday season in Houston with all her family in Chicago.
'Normally during the holidays, we go from house to house to eat,' Nelson said. 'My dad called and I told him, 'you could send us some pictures' of Christmas, and then I just started bawling thinking about it. It's not the same spending the season here and not with your family.'
Helping the family this season will be the Houston Chronicle's Goodfellows. Funded by contributions from the public and hooded dress businesses, the program uses all money collected to buy toys for needy children 2 through 10. The Chronicle pays other costs.
The abruptness of leaving a turbulent home meant no planning and no saving. That made for a very itinerant period in their lives.
'I had a friend in the (Chicago) area who allowed us to sleep on her floor,' Nelson said. 'Then, when he found out we were there, we went from hotel to hotel, then to a shelter. He tracked us down in DeKalb, Ill., at a relative's house, and superhero dress up he stalked the relative, but the police there were not having it. But we were still at unease, so I asked my kids, how would you like Texas?'
Nelson said the three of them 'just kept on driving till we got here. We just slept in the truck.'
Once things were more stabilized, Nelson penned Bluo Rain, a compilation of two short stories, 'Rhedd Cincinnati Bluo' and 'Running from the Rain.' Self-published, they were a sort of gift to herself once her family had established itself in Houston. She said she gained the confidence to write it with the help of Dress for Success, a group that helps boost women with professional aspirations but educational or financial challenges.
She now conducts background checks as part of the human resources department for a healthcare services company. That's her day job. Her night job is instilling the love of writing in Teliah. She does that by disciplining Teliah in a non-traditional way.
'I make her write 500-word stories,' Nelson said. 'I give her a title or a picture, and I tell her to write. I've been doing that for a while. Instead of a restriction or spanking, I make her use her brain.
'Sometimes, if you take the talent you have and mariposa dress store put it out there, it really comes out.'
Recent contributions include:
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Because of limitations of space, only recent contributions of $100 or more appear in Chronicle printed editions. A list of all recently processed contributions appears on www.chron.com/goodfellows . Contributions appear in the paperon the Web site as they are processed.
neil.strattonchron.com


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