I don’t blame myself for what happened to my parents. I may not be the most buoyant about it, but who would be? Going through your high school years without complete parental support can end horribly in more ways than one. High school is the time when you need your parents the most; you are growing up, maturing, and starting your life. It can be hard to know where to start if you can’t even recognize where your parents have gotten in their lives. It was summertime, and I was enjoying another well-needed vacation from school.
We had just moved into the house under the massive water tower. I thought all was well because my mother, Tina, and my father, Tim, had just started renting this house. Moving wasn’t very new to me considering we moved houses like a baby had its diaper changed. My mom worked from around three in the afternoon to two in the morning, so I did not see her much during the school year, except for on the weekends and in the mornings. Mom worked in Homerville, Georgia, a nearby podunk town. I didn’t know many people from there because most of my family lives in Valdosta, Georgia.
My dad worked normally from six in the morning to three in the afternoon at Union Tank Car in Valdosta, with my uncle, his brother in-law. I was only fourteen at the time, and I probably would not have noticed anything wrong with my parents relationship because I never really got in their business. I was always playing Xbox with my friends or doing something with my brothers. The exact date eludes me, but it was a week day for sure because my mom was going to work. All seemed routine to me. Tina got ready like she always did and she just left for work.
The next day came, and I did not see her, I did not pay much attention to that though I thought she might have just left at the crack of dawn to go to my aunts or something. In the back of my mind this did seem a little strange. The next day came and I still had not seen Tina. Later that day when my dad got home from work, he told me that my mom had left and she was not coming back. I was hurt that Tina would just up and leave me like that. I did not really understand the whole situation. I just felt lost. Through the divorce of my parents came many things.
My father ended up quitting his job due to the falling out he had with my mother’s side of the family, adding stress due to our financial situation. Worrying about your next meal became an everyday problem. I am not going to say we did not have groceries in the house because we did. I just did not think an average diet for a teenager should be frozen pizzas, hot pockets, and other microwavable meals, but that was all I knew anymore. I ate but it definitely was not anything nutritious. A week or two after my dad quit his job he took a turn for the worse; he started drinking, staying out late, and he wasn’t even receiving an income.
Two or three weeks after that, he realized he needed to make a living. He started working in tobacco fields, and I was going to start working in tobacco fields with him. I felt like me not asking him for money would lift a burden of my dad, since we were already short on money. Eventually, my dad had to draw from his retirement money, to keep us afloat for a few months. He tried making sure he paid the most important bills with his money, but in the end, it was just too much, and we had to do something that no one likes to do. We asked his family for help. His cousin, Dianne, let us move in with her.
Dianne has two daughters and a son. Her oldest daughter is in college so she was not living at home anymore, and her youngest daughter slept with her so I could have a room for myself. I enjoyed staying with Dianne for a little while, because I saw my father more than I normally did. I followed a very formulaic schedule at Dianne’s; I went to school, went home, did something with friends or my girlfriend, and then back home to sleep. I followed this schedule for about three months straight. I thought all my worries were gone, and we were going to stay there until my dad got back on his feet.
However, as soon as I thought our luck turned around it instantaneously got worse. This time I tried my hardest not to worry about it. I prayed constantly and I trusted in God that it would work out. I never knew what was in store for me. My biggest fear is that I would wind up in a foster home. Two or three weeks had passed, and one of my best friends, Bryce, knew my situation. He had talked to his parents about it, and they offered for me to stay with them. It was a very generous offer, and without a doubt I took it, because who would not want to live with one of their best friends right?
This was going to be my third house within two years. I was tired of bouncing from house to house and feeling so unstable. The day I moved in, I never could have told you that in a year I would still be living there. Bryce’s family treated me like I was a part of their family. My school life improved incredibly with the help of the stable place I was living. Today, I can honestly say that receiving the chance to live with Bryce is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. It is warm and comforting to know that I actually feel like I am apart of a family. I finally feel like I have a home.
