A lot of people like to tell me what an awesome sister/person I am for taking on such an enormous task. I mean, here I am, newly out of college, no husband much less boyfriend to speak of, dreams to be followed, able to go anywhere and try to do anything that I want and instead, some how I get the lovely task of taking care of my sister's 2 year old for a year while she's off to war. And instead of at least getting to stay living where I was happy, i get to move back to the little shit hold town where I grew up where I promised myself I'd never again live. I can count the number of friends I have on one hand, all of whom have a more important person in their life, and a Dad that lives eight whole minutes down the road but yet I only see maybe twice a week if I'm lucky. I'm living in my dead mum's house, of whose death was only a mere seven months ago, and my monthly bills have literally tripled.
But while all that is important in the long run, presently, we should really start from the beginning. So we start with the tantalizing tale of how my nephew came to be the "bastard of his aunt".
Two years and seven months ago, my dear dear sister, was dating a boy. And a boy he was. Seven years his senior, my dear dear sister, thought it a wonderful idea to date this boy who hadn't even graced the world of legal drinkers. Two years and seven months ago, these two very naive souls entered into what I'd like to call for all intensive purposes "a knowing contractual situation whose consequences could be dire therefore needing recognition by both parties, holding both responsible" i.e. sex. Sex which in turn would create a baby. SURPRISE! Yes, sex really does do that.
Side note: A little background on my dear dear sister. For as long as I can remember, the phrase "I'm never having kids" was a strong point in her personal ideology in life. Now she's a single parent. Don't worry, it doesn't make sense to me either.
I'll let you make your own conclusions as to why this chid was born. After all, baby daddy surely didn't want it. He wasn't ready for a responsibility as such. Baby mamma was pro-choice. They were both in the military at the time, the Navy none the less making single parenthood near impossible less anything went awry with the relationship, which seeing as I have her kid it obviously did... Not to mention they were already fighting prior to Ooops. But I guess to be fair, she did "hear the heartbeat" against her wishes which apparently forced her to have said child.
Now the child, while he is an oops that should never have happened as its what would have been best for all involved parties including him, is probably the coolest kid ever. Super smart, probably too much for his own good, and I would never want him to not have lived. But for all intensive purposes, thats not the point.
So, two years and we'll say probably four months ago, baby daddy not only broke it off, but first cheated on my sister and his unborn fetus, a girl whom he continued to date and for all intensive purposed intended to marry. Of course that was its own set of drama that I don't want to get into, but lets just say at one point this home wrecking whore wanted him to get full custody of the child he never wanted to begin with.
I think its pretty obvious by everyone at this point, that not only does this dude have problems, but he sure as hell wasn't coming back, nor should he be allowed to. At first he was slightly responsible. Paid my sister a little money here and there to help out tight prenatal care. He even went as far as to buy the crib set. But then one day, after coming to meet his son after he was born, and getting pictures taken, and trying to settle a deal for child support out of court, baby daddy decided that his son wasn't actually his biological son and ceased all contact with my sister and nephew.
Have I mentioned yet how my sister can pick them?
My sister was now a single parent in the Navy, whose duty schedule left her on land for three years followed by being stationed on a boat with recurrent deployments for the following three years in a circular pattern. But for the record, thats not where she is now. No in fact she's in Afghanistan on land for an entire year, instead of six month cycles.
Before you start getting angry with the military about "forcing single mothers off to war to leave their parentless children behind" there is something you should know. A. They did not force her to go. In fact, she still had a year of shore duty left before she would have had to deploy anywhere. Yes, she in fact chose to leave her not even two year old son in the hands of someone else for an entire year. And why you ask? For money of course.
Maybe I'm just being petty because I'm the one left to take care of him, but who decides that leaving her kid right at the most vital time in his life of making memories and learning who his mother is, for a year? Yes, the money she's getting paid over there is fantastic and it could in fact help them stay on their feet and be more financially stable. Except my sister has a spending problem and if were all really honest with ourselves, its never going to happen.
My sister has been through so many cars I can't remember them all; hasn't owned a house or completely paid off a car once in her life; gets her rent and utilities paid for by the military, and yet somehow she is still over ten thousand dollars in debt. Which is her excuse as to why she can't pay me enough to take care of her son without struggling to get by.
Which is why I'm living in a town that magnifies any miserable thing that is going on in my life. Which is why I'm unable to have any semblance of a social life. Which is why I'm here. Interesting. It all comes down to money. Neither family, nor blood, nor loyalty, nor one of the hugest favors anyone could ever do for someone else can compete, with my sister's love of money.
And the saddest fact of all? She doesn't even realize it.
So what she comes down to is another selfish person in my life whom just really pisses me off, and if I was a different person could write off and for all intensive purposes tell them to go fuck themselves...
If only I was that person. Instead, I guess I'll just write about it. Figures.
