What the hell, Jeannette? You finally make it to New York City, get a good job at a company that you like, and start your first year in college and what do you do? You take in your parents? Ughhh! What have they done for you? Nothing! These people are psychotic. Your Dad is clearly a raging alcoholic and need some serious therapy. He beat you when you were little and took that money that you needed for food and you let him back into your life? I thought you went to NYC to escape Welch and the problems that your family caused you there, not to start a whole new set of issues in a new city! These people are nut cases, Jeannette. Your dad has actually said that he enjoys living on the streets! Why? There is nothing for them there! You've seen how they are when they come back to your house: tired, dirty, and putrid. And he enjoys that? There's clearly an issue with him. Or take your mom, for instance. She views living on the streets as "an adventure". "'You can't just live like this,' I said. 'Why not?' Mom said. 'Being homeless is an adventure!'" (255). Honestly, is smelling like garbage and spending all of your money on alcohol an adventure that you want to take on, Jeannette? I wouldn't.
On top of all of this, you have things to do and people to see! You have an excellent job at a local magazine doing what you love, writing. Also, you are starting your first year of college, which is very demanding, and you don't need any more stress in your life. There is no room for these people in your life, Jeannette! Now, I'm not saying you can't have family in your life. Lori is a perfect example of what you want in a family member: caring, self-sufficient, and sane. Why don't you spend more time with her? Or what about Brian for that matter? He, too, is successful and sane and is someone that you can depend on.
Listen, I get it. "Your family is your family and have to support them through thick and thin." However, hear my out. You can't just have a definitive rule for all events. There are so many exceptions and so many limits that it just doesn't make sense to continually accept those that abuse you. Your parents are terrible people. They may have good intentions at points, but most of the time, they are too drunk to remember what they were. You need to cut the umbilical cord, Jeannette.
-Tom
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3 comments:
Tom,
I agree with you about how Jeannette needs to cut her ties with her family because of their abusiveness, but like you said, they are her family. They raised her, fed her, kept her safe, and if it wasn't for their upbringing, would she have even made it NYC? Would she have gotten that job and been accepted into college? Even if her parents treated her horribly most of the time, there have probably been certain times where they have taught her valuable lessons in life. From my book I've learned that family is family, no matter what. They might not show that they care, but they always will. And if you are ever in desperate need of help, they'll be there for you. Just something to think about.
you tell her, tom. YOU TELL HER.
Tom- I agree with you! It seems like Jeannette is being too nice. If her parents like to be homeless, she needs to help them get help, not let them have free run of her house, at least until she had a more stable life, and time to help them on her own. If my parents were crazy like that I wouldn't just let them into my house! Although she's keeping them safe, she's not really helping them!
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