Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
Last Straw
The crash of a glass shattering woke me up. I climbed out of bed and padded out of the small bedroom I shared with my half-sisters. The kitchen was at the other end of the short hallway. There was no door, the yelling and screaming echoed through the house. Mum and Dad were fighting again, shouting words that my four-year-old brain couldn't understand. Money, drugs, bills, budget, none of these things had meaning for me. The yelling was scary. They were throwing things at each other, the kitchen table between them. Our parents fighting was normal, as was moving house every six months or so because Dad couldn't keep a job. I stood silently in the doorway, watching them with wide eyes and a pounding heart, unable to interfere or go back to bed. Shards of glass and porcelain lay scattered on the plain wooden floorboards, twinkling in the light of the dim bulb in the ceiling. I felt a presence at my side and looked down. My younger sister was standing beside me, gazing into the kitchen. I covered her eyes with my hands, wanting to shield her from the violence. Dad's older daughter was staying with her mother in the city. The scrape of wood on wood drew my attention back to the kitchen and I saw Dad in the act of shoving the table at Mum. It collided with her stomach, forcing her backwards into the wall. She was bent over, hands against the edge of the table, shock and pain on her face. A gasp escaped me, a mixture of terror and concern. Dad turned and spotted us. His eyes, already glaring furiously, narrowed even more and he screamed at us to get out and go back to bed. I grabbed my sister's hand and half-dragged her down the hallway to our room, where we huddled together on my bed with the blankets over our heads.
By RandomEllie16 years ago in Families
Children and Discipline;
I honestly must say the subject I am touching on right now is just my opinion. It is based on my life experience and on direct observation of other functioning and nonfunctioning families. I do not condone violence toward children and neither do I find it healthy to have a child who grows up out of control. As a mother of a 15-year-old and a care giver raising 2 toddlers I have to say My view has evolved as I have matured. It is not my intent to cause discourse or say what is right or wrong, my intent is only to make you think about why people spank, and whether it’s appropriate.
By Casey Ann Patterson6 years ago in Families
Let the kids create
Kids being home for this long is never on any parents list- we all want to stay occupied! Have them learn and have things to do for ourselves- until this happens! And we realize how crazy it is to come out of our comfort zone and do something new...like stay home without our own will. It’s boring...it’s tiring....it’s frustrating...
By Sadia Khan6 years ago in Families
The Gift
Just after dusk and darkness fast approaching we gathered on the curb of the most dreadful place of my life. At the front door of the Dallas hospital I stood trying to cope with the tragic event of the day. My only son unresponsive laid at death's door beyond this parking lot. Our friends were trying to console us and comfort our greatest fears but their voices fell upon my ears as one of many flowing through my mind. Just as we had decided it was time to depart my husband started walking quickly toward our suburban. We had parked it in valet parking right in front of the hospital. Becoming frustrated with his urgency to leave I called out to him. He continued his pace as though he was ignoring me calling to him. Suddenly I saw the tail lights of our vehicle light up. I did a complete 360 in my mind in warpspeed realizing he was still approaching our vehicle. Commonsense tries to understand how this could be and I soon grasped the idea our truck was being stolen! Oh yes stolen right in front of the hospital on a night that I thought couldn't be worst until now! The thief backed out quickly and my husband grabbed the side mirror jumping on the running board and off they went at a high speed out of the parking lot! My heart turned to butter and my thoughts were a spiderweb yet I knew I must do something! I took off running screaming "call the police, call an ambulance" as I ran past the cars in the intersection putting my hand on their hood as I ran by. In my mind trauma, stress, and tragedy were very real words at this moment. I knew not only was my son in trouble tonight so was my husband. All I could do was pray and run begging for a good outcome. As the thief approached the third intersection that turned toward the interstate he slowed down giving my husband time to jump off. Our vehicle that had just been completely repaired of every little problem was now stolen and headed down the interstate. We were now left without transportation to and from the hospital which was about 45 miles from home.
By Karen Fullington6 years ago in Families
My Divorce Story
I fell in love in 2011 with someone I thought was the rest of my life. In reality, I was young, naive, and was not thinking at all, thinking more of the word dysfunctional. At 22 years old, I got pregnant. The father of my daughter did not want any nothing to do with me at the time; we were young, so his immediate response was to get rid of it, and when I did not do that, he just decided not to come around for years—broken long before I even decided to get married to my soon to be ex-husband. What excuse can you have other than accountability? Now that I am ready to talk about this, I want to make sure that I start from the beginning.
By Nia on Air6 years ago in Families
The Z restaurant
I am a stay at home mommy with a busy hubby. My kids are 7, 4 and 2 years olds. Hubby works a full week at the office. Work from home perks are long gone. So I am home with the kids almost all day. It’s not easy, distance learning and then homework, Arabic classes, music class, online programs for school, and then the two toddlers. It’s not easy...yes I repeat it’s tough.
By Sadia Khan6 years ago in Families
Motherhood as Meditation
This morning I got up to make a cup of tea before the children woke. I had scarcely filled the kettle before tiny sounds called me back to the bedroom and a sleepy baby held her arms up. I tried to set her down with toys so I could carry on with the morning but she fussed and wailed until I scooped her up again. Motherhood as a different pace than the life I knew previously. We have created different rhythms and embraced a slower pace of life. So I settled my daughter on my hip and finished filling the kettle, including her in my morning tea rhythm. A rhythm is a practice of ebb and flow that evolves to suit each season of your life. I have come to use rhythms at home to create a container for our daily movements. These rhythms arise as I pay attention to our daily life and our needs, using these rhythms to make space for our wants and needs, creating a flow for each day.
By Raine Sillito6 years ago in Families
SURPRISE
It's the end of June 2006, I find myself flying into Chicago, Ill. In route to a very small town in Wisconsin 3 hours north to Princeton, Wisconsin to be exact. There's a celebration and if I know my older sister, it's going to be huge~ it always is. And this means her baby will be off on her own, college life, my Goddaughter & niece MJ~ "Magpie" has graduated High School and this will come as some surprise as I love surprising people, it does make life much more interesting.
By dees Hintz6 years ago in Families
