My Dad

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My last post made me think back to when my mom left me, my sister and my dad. She left us for an older man who lived in NJ and she moved there for a year before they both moved back so she could be closer to us. When she left us, she left all of the bills for my dad to take care of which meant that he had to work even more hours. There were days where we wouldn’t see him at all. He would be gone before we got up for school and wouldn’t come home until we were in bed. As a result, I became the mother hen of the house. I cooked, cleaned, did the laundry and made sure my OLDER sister got to school on time. After school, she would take off with her friends or have them over to the house where they would trash it which meant that I would have to clean it again once they were gone. When he was working late, I would ask a friend if her mom would give me a ride to his work so I could take him some dinner. There were alot of times that Carol, the lady that lived across the street from my dad’s work would come and pick me up so I could help her out in her barn/house. Those nights, I would make sure I would have something really nice for my dad to eat and I would take it to him before I got to work in the barn. There would be weeks that she needed me every day and she would pay me what she could. One week I earned $100 because I was there every day after school, cleaning the stalls, feeding the animals. I even helped her clip nails and give her dogs a bath. And whenever Carol paid me, I would always try to give my dad the money to help towards the bills but he would never take it. One night, my dad was super tired after work but he had to make out a few bills. Usually, he puts them all back on the shelf when he’s done but when I got up the next morning, the bills and his checkbook were on the table to so I took a look. My dad had managed to pay all the bills except two. The water and the electric. Looking at the totals I saw that my dad would be able to pay them with his next check but that would mean also getting late fees on both of them. So, I went up to the attic where I had been hiding my allowance and the money Carol gave me for helping her out at her place. I had enough to cover both bills so that night I waited up for my dad. My sister spent the weekend at a friends house so she could get out of doing her chores but that didn’t bother me. It just meant that the house would stay clean. When my dad got home, I let him eat and then I put the money on the table. I told him about the two bills I knew still needed to be paid and I had the money for them. He shook his head at me but I insisted. We didn’t pay any late fees that month or any month after that while I still lived there. I know for a fact that I had to grow up really fast and I don’t regret it for a minute. Had my sister stepped up to help or had my mom not left us like she did, I could have probably been a kid because she would have been there doing what I had been. And I know my dad is grateful for everything I helped with back then. To this day, I still think he is still trying to repay me for all the money I gave him towards the bills. On holidays or birthdays, if he gives money or gift cards, my sister will ask how much I got. I refuse to answer until she tells me how much she got. Usually I get more than what she does or I also get a gift with cash stashed inside. Now for those that have read this entire post, I thank you for taking the time to read it. And I didn’t write this post for any attention or want anyone to tell me I am a good daughter or whatnot. This was just something that was on my chest and I feel better now that it is all written down.