by Paul Cleaver

Created on: December 18, 2009

When speaking of a teen father I couldn't help but add my own voice to those that have already been expounding on the negatives and the positives (all though those were few) on the subject. You see I started my "adult" life as a 19 year old father married to a 16 year old girl with a brand new baby girl to look after.

It was a time when there was very little said about "protection" or the ultimate answer, adoption. Even if there had been I seriously doubt if we would have placed our baby for adoption. It was an unspoken rule between the two of us that we were going to get married and make a life for ourselves. Maybe not the best life but it would be our life and it would be for us to decide the fate of this little life we were brining into this world.

My plans to go into the Marines OCS (Officers Candidate School) and learn to fly choppers were something I chose to put on the back burner due to my new marriage. My place was at my new young wife’s side and it wasn’t time for me to leave her alone with a brand new life to take care of and shepherd into this world.

She was only 16 years of age as I mentioned so it was important to me that6 she at least finish high school and receive her high school diploma. In the area where we lived they allowed the pregnant mothers to attend regular school until they started to show (like at that point she became contagious) then she had to attend a special school for pregnant mothers. Once the baby was born she would be able to bring the baby to this special school with her each day. So in this way she was able to continue her education and receive her diploma with her graduating class.

I was doing what I was supposed to do and that was working a 40+ hour a week job at a refinery. I was an operator at the plant and made good money however I had to work rotating shifts so that became an area for contention between the two young married kids. I had to work a shift that required me to sleep during the day and that required my young bride to try and keep our little baby quiet. Well as we all know little babies only know two sounds, quiet and loud. So it was an area of constant argument between us as a young married couple.

After 6 months of marriage our car (my high school hot rod) broke down, blew up. Just ceased operating. Well my father was kind enough to give us a car so that we would not be strand without wheels; it was a 1960 Dodge Dart (4-door) with tail fins. My new bride absolutely hated it! I was not

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