Random Thoughts From Childhood Series-Yet Another Home
June 25, 2009
It was November and I had just encountered another move to a strange home. My first week in this new home, my little brother and I meet the extended family of our new parents. Our new parents had no children of their own. They threw a party, as if to say to their relatives “see, we now also have children” come and meet them! I had a bad feeling in my gut, like an inner guidance telling me that this was not going to go well. We met many people, like being on display in the window at the mall, getting the “once over” from many strangers. The family did not accept us; the other children (cousins, nieces and nephews) made fun of us taunting us with cruel reminders of the obvious; not having “real” parents. The parents of these children belittled our new parents over us, like some strange competition was going on with in this family. Our new parents had taken us in to fill a void of some sorts it seemed. It soon became evident to me that we would not be treated as real members of this family.
Within the hour of meeting this new family, my brother and I are separated into two rooms (our new bedrooms as it turns out). We are interrogated and beat with a belt over some missing change and a toy being flushed into the bathroom toilet that caused a back-up. This act was not our doing and I had watched two bratty boys (special because they had real parents) flush that toy and pocket that money but my honest account resulted in a harder whipping. My word did not mean anything and we spent that night being punished for a crime we did not commit. I can still see the laughing faces of those two bratty kids peering around the corner as I was beat with the belt.
I think that this home was the 2nd to last home I was in. The truth is that if you asked me how many foster homes I was in I cannot give you an answer because I only remember the homes that I stayed in for a period of a year or more and there are 4 of those that I can recall.
I don’t harbor any grudges or ill feelings with regard to remembering those homes (even though they didn’t exactly measure up to “quality parenting” standards).
Memories from Jenny's childhood
I have always choose to take the best of a situation that exists. If there is a glimmer of positive, I assure you I will find it. I would never want others to feel sorry for me because the way I see it, I had a family (when my own deserted me). I had people take me in (when they had no biological obligation to do so). These families may have made mistakes but at least they participated with me…front and center, they tried!
Related Reading:
Comments
One Response to “Random Thoughts From Childhood Series-Yet Another Home”
Got something to say?
Yet, We (Foster Kids) have endured it all and have become stronger, tougher, smarter and wiser for all that we had no choice but to live through.