I try, Heaven knows I have tried over the years to live this, but, there are just some people you can’t. There are just some people who take advantage of every kindness you offer them.
So, is it wrong that I feel a small triumph when I see the cleaning company across the street to clean the place so it can be rented after the people who lived there were evicted? I do feel bad for the two daughters, but their parents put them in this situation. When I am asked daily by the child, who is a year younger than Little J, if her parents can have a few cigarettes so they can be more calm, I have to say no. When the same child knocks on my door daily asking for milk or pasta or hamburger meat, or beans so their father can make dinner, I have to say no. When the mother comes over and asks if I will buy food stamps from her or if I can lend her $10 and she will pay me back with $20 in food stamps when hers come in, I have to say no.
I made the mistake, I said yes once or twice, and I then became responsible for supporting them as well as my own family. I let on that I would never let a child go hungry after Little J is fed, and they took advantage of that. The last time I was asked, I said no, and the mother tried to pull a guilt trip on me, telling me that I didn’t tell her that we wouldn’t have enough money to buy future food stamps from her and she was counting on that money she was going to borrow from me for her kids. I will give everyone a minute to let that sink in…
I was asked to babysit her children one night for 2 hours and they would pick up McDonalds on the way home. I said sure thing, I like their girls and they usually get along with Little J and it was after dinner time, so I really didn’t mind.
6 hours later, the baby had messed her last diaper and I had to use an emergency swim diaper I had from a friend’s little girl (the diaper was a few years old but still unused), the parents had not called even once to tell me they would be late, Little J was starting to get cranky because he couldn’t go to sleep in his own home since he had a friend over and running around, the two girls were not fed before they came over and I did not have anything made to feed them, the baby spent 45 minutes poking my dog in the eyes and saying “doggy eyes,” the older girl was starting to not feel well. When they finally got home to get the girls they acted offended that I was a little annoyed because it was after midnight. Oh, and they just so happened to forget to tell me both of the girls had lice, which I didn’t find out until the next day, after they had been all over my home, on my couches, in Little J’s room. And the mom acted like it was none of my business, which I really do think it is.
So, long story short, I couldn’t help but feel a little glad that the parents were evicted. Yes, I feel bad for the children since their parents’ actions are none of their fault, they are just helpless pawns in the adults’ games, but the parents have gotten what was coming to them for a long time.