Angel Teachers by Fibkins William L.;

Author:Fibkins, William L.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: undefined
Publisher: R&L Education
Published: 2012-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Bill: She Loves Me, I Think, but She Doesn’t Protect Me

Being safe, secure, nourished emotionally and physically, provided with hope and optimism, and encouraged to follow one’s dreams are the cornerstones of effective parenting and raising a happy child. Some lucky kids get the full one hundred percent treatment. Most kids receive just a little of each, but just enough to move on and become successful adults. But there are kids like Bill who don’t receive much, if any, parenting. Over time, they learn to become their own parent, until, if they’re lucky, some caring adult enters their lives.

Bill was one of those teens. His birth parents had divorced soon after he was born. He never knew his father; the family story was that he was an alcoholic and had moved on to California. Bill’s mom, Rhonda, was a heavy drinker and had the bad habit of getting drunk at local bars and bringing men home, men who were often alcoholics themselves and prone to violence and abuse. They often beat Rhonda and scared Bill into calling 911 to protect his mother and himself.

For much of his early life this was his routine, particularly on weekends. During the week Rhonda would tell Bill how much she loved him and promised she would change, stop drinking and bringing men home. But she never did. Bill tried to convince himself that maybe someday she would change and that hope kept him going through elementary school and junior high. He kept his anger toward his mother in check; he loved her and felt he had to stand by her so she didn’t get hurt or die from some of the beatings.

Bill became the parent, the savior; he knew he had to be strong and vigilant, be the man. Meanwhile, he did OK in school but kept his problems to himself. He didn’t want any teacher or counselor finding out. He worried that, if they did learn what was really happening in his home life, the authorities might put him in a foster home. He had seen that happen to some other kids in his neighborhood. He needed to protect his mom. He knew she would be at greater risk without his being there to protect her.

Things became worse when Bill reached high school. During the fall semester of ninth grade, Rhonda took in a full-time lover named Paulie. She told Bill that Paulie was a good man and needed a home while he was divorcing his wife. He had a good job in construction and would pay rent. But Paulie was a big drinker and, once he settled in every evening, it became a never-ending drinking bout until Rhonda or Paulie passed out or got into a major fight, usually over which of them had drunk the last beer.

Drinking wasn’t the only problem Paulie had. He made it clear early on that he was in charge of the house and Bill had better go along. He told Bill, “I’ll beat the living shit out of you if you start wise-assing me.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.