HELP!

I seriously need some advice here. Even just your thoughts anything, just give me SOMETHING!

Nae is finally the teenager I have dreaded having. She stayed the night at her friend's house last night and they decided to sneak out of the house. They got caught by the cops and had to call us to get her at 2:00 in the morning! Thankfully we didn't have to go get her at the police station but at the school they were at, but STILL! She's grounded from her phone, her computer, her iPod, and her friends for awhile, not sure exactly how long, a month maybe? We just don't know! We've never had to do this before with her, she's always been a great kid. We want to make an impact on her that this shit isn't going to fly, but also we don't want to punish her TOO much. Not sure if there's such a thing as "too much" at the moment, but I just don't know what's the appropriate punishment. My thought was she would get her phone when she went back to school on Monday, but Dirty thinks if she gets grounded from it, that's it. I didn't agree with him until I read her facebook messages. Her and her friend were sneaking out to go see a boy. Apparently he left his door unlocked so they could get in? That's what I'm getting from the messages, I could be wrong, but I doubt it. As if that's not bad enough, she sent that message this morning from her iPod when she was grounded! She doesn't know I read her messages, neither does Dirty. I just read them. When I asked her why they were sneaking out, her answer was "we wanted to know what it was like to sneak out". That's a bullshit answer, I knew that even before I read her messages. Now I have confirmation of it, so I just don't know what to do with this information.

Any thoughts, advice, anything would be appreciated. I'm at a loss as what to do here. I know she's a good kid and teenagers do stupid stuff, but I don't want this to become a normal thing nor do I want to lose her.

Who's The Real You?

I was asked this question by someone on Twitter a few weeks ago. My answer always was "I'm many things. Although you won't know the real me on Twitter." For me, Twitter is my place to be fun, silly, talk obscenely, drink wine on Friday nights at #wineparty, be inappropriate, sexual, emotional, supportive, flirty..all sorts of things. Its my place to bitch about my sister and her dogs coming for Thanksgiving, it's my place to say whatever the hell I want. My blog is for that as well, but this blog is more the emotional, softer side of me. The place where I'm more vulnerable, where I let my guard down and actually show others that I am not a cold hearted bitch, that I do have feelings and they do get hurt and I do in fact cry. Not many people know that I cry, even less have actually SEEN me cry. Not that "this is such a happy moment" cry, but the "ugly cry" where your face gets all contorted into odd shapes you could never recreate unless you were in the "ugly cry" state. I've thought about changing up my blog because it is SO damn depressing but I can't. I don't want to not write about something because it's depressing and just be happy all the time because I do enough of that in real life, I need to let it out somewhere. That somewhere is here. Obviously everything I write isn't going to be depressing, but if so? There's nothing wrong with that!

As far as knowing who I am, I still don't know. I know that I'm a wife, I'm a mother, I'm a daughter, a sister, a student, a friend, and a bunch of other things but who do I see myself as? That's what I don't have the answer too. I do know that I am stressed to the maximum and am SO overwhelmed! I have SO much on my plate that I feel like I'm drowning and I don't know what to tackle first. I am the only source of income and when we are broke, I feel responsible. I do the laundry, so when someone doesn't have something, I feel responsible. Same thing goes for the cleaning of the house, dinners, and everything else. I am responsible for WAY too much and I am beginning to not care about anything. I was in such a funk Tuesday, on the brink of tears all day long because I was feeling the "I don't give a fuck" feeling. This feeling is synonymous with my dark hole of depression. I don't want to go back there, even just the thought of being there makes me have a bit of a panic attack. I ended up talking to Dirty about it, thanks to Danielle who made me promise to talk to him, and he helped me a lot. We came to the conclusion that I am so scared of being depressed that I sort of make myself depressed. Its a vicious cycle and I'm not sure how to stop it. I need to balance these emotions and tasks and am unsure how to do that. I do know that asking for help is HUGE, as is reaching out and while I'm not perfect at it, I'm doing better. There are just some things I have no control over and continuing stressing about those things, isn't doing me favors. On the other hand there are things that I do have control over and that's where asking for help comes in. I'll feel better if I let go a little bit. I'm tying. That's the best I can do.

Another thing that has me going is the situation with my older sister. After I wrote my letter, my dad got her address and said I could send it to her. He suggested I leave out the part about her dad and I agreed. It was a low blow and it was just mean. I didn't need to physically send it to her because she tried to add me to Facebook. That is a little to close and I do NOT want her access to pictures of my kids or my life. She made the choice to love her drugs instead of her family despite us trying to help her. That was her choice, not mine. So I ended up sending her my letter via Facebook and it wasn't well received. Not that I expected anything less, I just didn't expect the shit storm it caused. She didn't reply to me personally, but she sent it to our other siblings and my dad. One of my other sisters sent me a reply basically telling me that I am a spoiled judgmental brat who lives in a  fantasy world. It was not nice at all and frankly, took me by surprise. I didn't expect anyone to remember the events the way I remembered them, but I thought maybe they'd see some of it my way? I don't know exactly what I expected but it was as hell wasn't what I got. The sister I sent the letter to did not reply to me, but she replied to my dad, which really pissed me off. I wrote the letter, if she had something to say about it, and she did, she should have sent it to me. According to her, Dirty is a lazy, controlling piece of shit who wouldn't watch his own kids so I could see my mom when she was sick. She also said that my kids are her niece and nephew and when they get older she will have a relationship with them if they want it. They won't, I've raised them better then that.

She is also confused as to why all of this is coming out now. She blames me for her son hating her and is not taking ANY responsible for anything. I knew she wasn't going to take any responsibility for anything, but I wasn't aware I was to blame for her son hating her. The best part of this whole thing? Is when she said "if and when I decide to get clean, that will be my business". She just admitted to still being on drugs! Knowing that, does she really think I want to have any sort of relationship with her? Or have my kids anywhere near her? I don't know what it's like to be addicted to drugs, so I can't relate but she HAS to know that I will not let her around my teenager! I just wish I could shake the shit out of her and allow her to see what she is doing to this family, even living a state away. She is STILL effecting our lives and I just want her to go away! I had hoped for some sort of closure after sending the letter but it's only frustrated me more. She'll never get it and I need to realize that and let it go.

In better news, my birthday is tomorrow and I plan on have a great day! I will not be grumpy, stressed, and will be happy! I will also let my family spoil me with adoration because dammit I deserve it!

She Would've Been 68 Today

Its been almost 5 years, still can't believe it! Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday and then again sometimes it feels like it was so long ago. So many events have been celebrated without her, how can we celebrate without her? How is it possible that I'm still breathing and living? How did I move into my house without her helping me with my kitchen, without her making spaghetti? I can't believe I did it.

This morning I woke up feeling ok, I knew what day it was but I was determined to make it a good day. Then Facebook happened and my sister and my dad posted a video and my friend sent me a message saying she remembered and was here for me. After that, everything kind of turned into a blur and the whole breathing thing became difficult. I really did NOT want this to happen today, clearly I have no choice, but still! I just wanted to have a happy day while remembering her and eat cake. So when I reminded Dirty what day it was, he suggested I stay home and just have a day to myself. I protested a bit because I feel like I should be productive one of these years on her birth and death day, but this year isn't going to be it. Maybe next year, or maybe not. We'll see.

So far this morning, I've cried a few times, made a cake, got SO much support from everyone and listened to her song and cried some more. I just want the pain to lessen a little bit more. In time I suppose.

Happy birthday mom, I'll raise my glass to you tonight, sing you happy birthday, and eat some cake all the while thinking about what a great mom you were and are. Thank you for the 30 years you gave me. They were perfect in every way, just like you.
Love and miss you!

Dear Sister

My dad won't let me call her, he thinks it won't do any good. So instead I'll write her a letter here and vent to my dad and Dirty about how I feel, despite them knowing and feeling pretty much the same way.

Dear Sister,
As much as I don't look at you as a sister anymore and don't think that word fits you, calling you a "meth whore" right from the beginning will not only stop you from reading this letter. And I NEED you to read this letter.

When I was little, I thought you and the rest of my older siblings, were SO cool. Y'all got to go to the park by yourselves and went to a big school. Y'all didn't have to have mom and dad take you everywhere. Soon, however I realized how not cool you all were. Tim was old enough to have a job, but never worked. Lori was old enough to work and of course didn't, either. You were suppose to go to school, but you were always skipping. You three were always downstairs doing your thing, while Lil Sis and I were upstairs playing Barbies or listening to music. When MY dad would go on his business trips, he would always bring you guys something back too. But that was never good enough for you. You were bound and determined to make him feel bad when he got home for whatever reason. While you never harmed Lil Sis or myself, it was very clear you didn't like us. The good thing is we were too young to realize it and still looked up to you three.

As I got older, I could see what type of person you were. Not just you, the others as well. I know Tim stole MY dad's camera, I know he also stole my necklace that Dirty gave me when he was in the Navy. I've also heard that you and Lori treated MY dad like shit. Which, btw, I will NEVER understand because he is the most gentle man in the world. He came into your life when you were 5, basically rescued you and our mom from an abusive man, yet you treated him like shit almost every day. It was and is not his fault your dad was a douche bag. It is also not my fault that we have different fathers and mine is a better man then yours could ever be.

Anyway when you had your son, we really had a connection. We spent that whole summer before together, it was so fun! We planned, shopped, and laughed so much. Then the newness of having a baby wore off and the reality set in. You got a job, so you said, and were gone more then you were home. Mom, dad, Lil sis, and I raised him while you were working. Granted I don't know what it's like to be a single mother and I could be wrong here, but I doubt it. I don't think you were working, I think you were out with your friends while all of us tended to your baby. Then you changed because you met Scott. You two got married and had a great life, on the outside. On the inside there was a lot of drinking, drugs, and infidelity. It wasn't ALL your fault, I'll give you that but it wasn't all his fault either. Once you left him, everything went to hell. You went off your God damn rocker! You left your son with Dirty and I for 2 days, we had NO idea where the fuck you were, nor did we have his asthma medication. Thank God you have an amazing family, if not, I don't even WANT to think what would have happened to that sweet innocent blue eyed little boy. You did have great timing and picked great people to leave him with. Dirty and I didn't have children yet and mom and dad were able to watch YOUR son, so between the 4 of us, we did a damn good job.

When I got pregnant with Nae you were very judgmental and condescending, you couldn't BELIEVE I was pregnant so young. When I told you the first words out of your mouth were "is this a joke?!" Really? I wasn't really THAT young and I had been with Dirty for about 3 years at the time. Anyway, that's not really a big deal, compared to everything else you've done. The conversations Dirty and I had about parenting because of you are what made us the parents we are today. I guess I should thank you for that, but I won't because I shouldn't have to learn how NOT to be a parent from my own sister.

What has pissed me off the most is when I had to tell Nae that she wasn't allowed to spend time with you anymore because of your drug use. You had borrowed mom and dad's car and didn't bring it back when you were suppose too. Mom and dad got pissed off, rightly so, and you all got into it at Nae's 3rd birthday party. Mom and dad took it downstairs so as not to upset Nae but the damage had already been done. From that point on, Dirty and I decided you weren't going to be spending ANY time with Nae. The conversation we had to have with YOUR niece was horrible. 10 years later, I can't still remember her words and the look on her face. She was devastated that she couldn't spend time with her "Tante Tricia" anymore. After that conversation Dirty and I had with her, we vowed to keep you and your shit far, far away from her and any future children we might have.

After we had Zilla, we allowed you to come over to see him because you had gotten your shit together, for the moment. Then mom got sick and we all rallied together as a family to help dad and make sure dad could get to the hospital or the nursing home to see her. When that became just TOO much for you to do, you thought stealing their car would be a good idea. Classy move. But my favorite? Was when you basically stole from my dad while our mother was in the hospital dying of cancer. Yep, that was pretty low of you. It was then and there I realized, or rather, it became more obvious that you will never change. So when we had to make the decision to take mom off life support, you were bawling and freaking out, I, your LITTLE sister by 7 years stood up and took charge. I did everything from telling the nurse our decision to buying the urn. I didn't do it for you, I did it for MY dad. I did it because it's what needed to be done and I am OK with it. I don't want you to say thank you, nor do I want a pat on the back for doing what family does for one another. I just want you to know how every one of your fucked up decisions have effected every one's life as well.

Going through mom's jewelry was hard enough, but you telling me most of it was "costume jewelry"? That was IT! We kind of got into it that night, but I still held my tongue because we were in my dad's house holding and looking at his DEAD wife's jewelry. Going off on you would have only made things worse for him, even though you totally fucking deserved.

I could go on and on for pages upon pages but rehashing all of your fuck ups won't make them any better. It won't serve any other purpose other then making you feel bad, which is a bonus, but it won't last for long. I know you too well. So let me say it simply so you don't get confused.

I don't want you in my life. I don't even CARE if you get clean and want to make amends, I will not accept it. Yes I know family is suppose to be there for each other all the time, well I'm breaking that rule. I don't want your poison anywhere near me or my children. Yes, MY children, not your "babies". You don't even KNOW Zilla and haven't seen either of them in YEARS. Even if I were to leave out my children and my husband, there would still be my dad. I don't want you anywhere near him, either. But mostly this is for me. If I never speak or see you again, I will be just fine with that. Harsh? Probably so. Mean? Oh I am sure of it. But ask me if I care? The answer is no. You have hurt me, Lil Sis, mom, my dad, and everyone else too many times for me to take the chance on you again. There is TOO much to lose. I will protect this family till I die and if that means writing you off, I'll do it with a fucking smile on my face. Trust me on this Tricia. Stay away!

~Your little sister that once thought you did no wrong, but now knows the truth.

So Pissed!

I don't even have the words for how pissed off I am. All I know is that I am shaking with rage and I would love to direct this anger at the person that deserves it, but I don't think it will do any good at all.

Before my mother met and married my father, she was married to a complete asshole. An asshole that beat her, wouldn't allow her to nurse her babies, one that cheated on her, plus many other horrible things. In that marriage they had 3 children together and one he brought from a previous relationship. Every single one of those children are fucked up. They've all been in jail, were or are doing drugs, stole and manipulated both my parents. They blamed my mother for leaving their father. They blamed my dad for everything and anything they could think of. There is a 7 year gap between the youngest child of that marriage and myself. That's a very large gap, but there was a time when we were close. Not anymore. In fact, I am not close with ANY of them at all. If I never speak to any of them, it will be too soon.

I could go on and on about all the horrible things my older sister did to my parents but I don't have that kind of time and frankly there is just TOO much to say. I will say that when my mom was in the hospital, DYING of cancer, my older sister took their car to do something and sold their handicapped sticker. She stole jewelry, money, their checkbook, my money, she lied about being raped, just to name a few. I'm sure you get the picture. She is NOT a nice person. It may be the drugs that are helping her do this shit, but that's only an excuse. She's been a user (of people) since I can remember.

Since we moved and my dad came into his money, shes popped back up on our radar, weird right? She's asked him for money because she needs food and OF course she isn't doing drugs anymore, so the money isn't for drugs. What the fuck ever! Nobody believes your bull shit. The worst part? Is she is making MY dad feel bad.

He went to California with my Lil Sis and they were going to meet here, my dad even paid for a bus ticket for her, but she made excuses to not show up. One of her excuses was that it was raining and she couldn't get to the bus station. Oh? Really? The rain prevents you from getting to the bus station? I get that you live in California and probably aren't use to the rain like we are here in Oregon, but I promise you, it wasn't enough to keep you from your father and little sister. But whatever, clearly it wasn't important enough.

The latest news is that she texted my dad tonight and said "daddy I'm desperate, I need to get out of here". She wants to come here! Uhhh no. Apparently she has some court date but is willing to miss that "just to come home". Well her "home" isn't here anymore. Not because she left us and didn't contact us for years after my mom died, but because she is a person I don't want in my life, sister or not. This isn't only just about me, its about my kids, Dirty, AND my dad. I am SO sick of her using my dad for her benefit. She treated him like shit when he never did anything wrong. He never treated her differently. He didn't treat her like she wasn't his blood, he accepted her. Even when she stole from his dying wife. He still treated her like he would me or my Lil Sis.

I'm SO tempted to call her and tell her to get the hell out of our lives. She has never done any of us any good by being in it. I know that's harsh, but it's true. I've been hurt by her before, but that pain has been replaced with anger. And I will protect my dad and my family in any way I feel the need too. And if that means giving her a call, I'll do just that.

Let The Healing FINALLY Begin

Its been almost 5 years since my life changed forever. Its been almost 2 years since I finally stopped running away from the pain. Its been a long time since I've felt anything but pain. It feels like I am on the road to healing, or maybe closer to actually BEING healed.

After spending some time with my thoughts and feelings about my mom being here, in my house, I am OK. It's good that she's here, I accept it. I accept her death, now. My heart knows that she won't come back and I won't be able to physically see her again. This doesn't mean that I won't have moments of sadness, but after this weekend, I feel OK. I think my soul has healed a little. Nothing can ever heal the part of my soul that was damaged the day she died, but I know I can soften the sting a bit.

Saturday I went to the coast with Peaches and her roommate. We had a great time shopping, laughing, and getting poured on. We got a little bummed when neither of us could find a purse at Coach and decided on a whim to get tattoos! At first I didn't want a tattoo, I wanted to get my nose pierced. The more I thought about it, the more I did want a tattoo. I wanted to get a tattoo for my mom. Not a memorial tattoo per se, but something that means something to me. Nothing huge but something simple. I had thought about getting a lung cancer ribbon, but then Peaches asked me "wouldn't you rather get something that reminds you of your mom rather then of her death?" She made a really good point. I need to remember her and not her death. Her death does not define her life, no matter what caused her death. She and her life are more then lung cancer and the strokes.

So....I got a tattoo on the inside of my left wrist. It's on the small side and I absolutely LOVE it! It's perfect. I got an outline of a forget-me-not, one of her favorite flowers and one that's always reminded me of her. I might get it colored in later, but as of right now, I am 100% happy with it. I feel very at peace with my decision, I feel settled. It was the right thing to do.

Last week was a very emotional week but I think I made HUGE progress. I'm very proud of myself for facing these blocks and going past them instead of allowing them to hold me back. I did do some crying Saturday night, but it felt good to let those tears out. I never feel good crying, but I did after I got home. Best part? My dad approved! I thought for sure he was going to hate it, but he really likes it!

I did good!

Today Was THE Day

Since my dad moved in, I've been wondering when my mom's ashes were coming. I had mentioned it to him before and he never really gave me a definite answer, nor did I press him for one. Apparently the day was Tuesday when he came back from Lil Sis' house. Although......I wasn't aware of this until this morning when I was downstairs talking to him. I was sitting on the floor petting the dog and ca, talking to dad, I look over at the coffee table and there it is. My mom's urn. The one Dirty and I bought and I held in my lap from the crematorium to the church the day of her funeral. I couldn't breathe, let alone finish my sentence. I stammered a few "ummms" and "uuuhhhhs" and finally finished whatever I was saying, which now I can't really remember. I didn't get up and run upstairs, but I excused myself before I started to cry. I still can't cry in front of my dad, the look on his face will break my heart, I just know it.

I was texting Danielle and told her what I just saw. Let me just tell you how amazing she is! She said all the right things and handled my grief and shock great! Seriously, I can't thank her enough. I know it's really difficult to handle another person's grief. You never know what to say and always question if what you said was right or not, but Danielle? She has always been great, especially today. She told me to breath and encouraged me to talk to Dirty. And I did just that.

My voice was shaky as were my hands and I really was having a hard time catching my breath but I told him what was going on. Having my mom here now, as physically as she can be, is rough. I can't really pretend that all of this didn't happen when there is hard core evidence that she is dead. All I have to do is go downstairs and see her urn. She's here.

I'm a little shell shocked but I know that I am OK. This is the last step for me. The last step in true acceptance of my mom's death. Right now, in this moment? I am sad. I miss my mom so much right now that it hurts. But I can also look at it that we are all together again, as a family; just like Dirty said. I haven't lived with my parents in years, and I never thought I would again. If I had thought about it, I sure wouldn't have thought this is how it was going to be, but it is what it is.

So far I've told four people (thank you Heather for your love) and while it isn't any easier each time, I feel my heart open a little each time. Every word I've typed I get a little more light into my soul. I've lived in the darkest place for so long that the light can be blinding and scary for me. It's a slow process but I know that moving to the warmth of the many that love me is what I need to do. I NEED that warmth, I NEED those kind words, warm hugs and the encouragement that this is right. The hiding and being scared isn't. Yes, the books tell you that talking to your family and friends is a very good thing. Hell even my therapist said that too, but I just couldn't let go and give my fragile soul to others. I felt the NEED to protect myself from more pain, despite KNOWING the people that I am talking about (YOU) will not hurt me.

I'm falling into the arms of love and basking in the warmth. There will be times when I will run back to my dark place, but I know, now, that I am much happier in the light of my family and friends. I'm taking deep breaths and embracing the helping hand.