To give you an idea, what really sets the houses apart from one another is the appearance. These houses in my subdivision are large two story family homes big enough for a family of say 8 or more people. This sets the stage for the kinds of people that live here. I don't know what kind of jobs the other folks have in my subdivision, but I can tell you on my street alone there are people with office jobs/engineering/business owners. It is pretty much expensive to live here, and my mom is the only one paying off the bills. Like most Vietnamese people, she works and happens to be the manager at a nail salon in Downtown Atlanta. I/We have just enough to live off of, but that comes with a price. The price of her own leisure is gone. She has to work seven days a week in order to meet the expenses of this house. She leaves work around 8 or 9 the morning, comes home exhausted, around 9 in the evening. The commute to work isn't all that great with the rush hour morning traffic. I've been to work with her several times and a commute that would usually take 30 minutes, takes double that because of the congestion. Her life is not that easy, yet she still manages to provide what she can for my siblings and I. Oh and I forgot, she provides for what I see as a "pest" in the house - her boyfriend. I do not have a say so, but I can tell you that there are many things that I dislike about him, such as his laziness to clean after himself, his drinking behavior, and his ability to manipulate my mom. As much as I like to say something, I won't dwell on those degrading actions of his because you can't change someone who refuses to change themselves. I have tried mentioning it several times to my mom, but she doesn't see his damaging behavior like I do because she is used to being around those type of people, cough cough, her previous boyfriends. I don't blame my mom because her past relationships haven't been all that great. I know I am the only hope for her, and this strength to turn things around is going to have to come from within. There's no reason to cause a fuss because this isn't like a life or death situation. I've seen a lot of ugly things from Kristina's (my 3 year old sister) dad. If I have the capability to make it through what horrible things Kristina's dad did, then I'm equipped to handle any situation.
I know I am not suppose to assume the role of a parent in this household. I have talked to one of my friends about moving to California to go to college over there, but there are several factors preventing that from happening. Firstly and most importantly, what is going to happen to my sisters when I leave? What about my mom? And the house? It is a selfish thing to do in my opinion to leave everything when I know it will benefit me, but I don't want to have to live with the uncertainly that my younger siblings are growing up in the wrong hands. At least with me around, there is somebody looking over the house passively and making sure my sisters grow up on the right foundations. Each case is different and sometimes when that person is gone, such as me, the parent will have to look over for their own children. But knowing my mom, her behavior is irrational and I can't trust her boyfriend at all. Yes, moving to California and pursuing in my education there will mean leaving everything here behind. It'll be better for me because I won't have to deal with the stress here. But it's a selfish thing to do.. I believe that family is important, and when you feel that you are the only glimmer of hope for your own siblings, who have a blood relation with you, then you should stick around when nobody else is. I can suck it up and be the guard for my siblings. There's high tensions around the house between my mom's boyfriend and I, but I don't let that stop me from providing the proper attention and needs my sisters do. There are many other reasoning, but that's the most important one. The thought of moving back to California is crossed out. I have to step up my game now, in regards to my sisters. Kristina goes to a caretaker every week and I can tell she does not receive the correct discipline she needs. She is very defiant and says very bad words in Vietnamese. Where does this arise? The people who take care of her. In other words, the caretaker. She is only three years old, and I guess you can say this cussing behavior is not normal of that in a three year old. It's absurd. Did I also mention the caretaker is my mom's boyfriend mother?
I am thinking on my days off of school and weekends, that I should be responsible in watching over Kristina at home. My school schedule is to where I could watch her every other day. Yes, it is a huge task to watch over her, teach her the correct manners, some English, to sum up basically be a "Dad" for her. It's a lot of work and I know that. I know I am going to have kids of my own someday, so I might as well take it as a benefit for both my mom and I. My mom's benefit is she wouldn't have to pay overpriced fees for this baby sitter who doesn't do any good. My own benefit is that I'll learn some future parenting.
I'm also thinking of getting a pet to help along with this also. I know I'm probably gonna go crazy after the first weeks knowing how playful Kristina is, so I kinda envision a pet in the picture to help with this. That way, Jennifer, Kristina, and this "pet" will keep each other company while I am doing my own thing. I'm planning on to talk to my mom tonight about all this, so hopefully she will let me watch over Kristina, which I believe I will provide much much better care for her than the baby sitter.
On a side note: Kristina is home and is downstairs with Jennifer. I guess Kristina did something wrong and she's being yelled at by him. You really aren't suppose do that.. um. Well time to go downstairs and take her out of this.
