Last year we had two roosters, Brian and Lady, and a chicken called Sarah. Lady is called Lady because we thought he was a lovely white chicken until he started to crow and fight with Brian.
Last year Daddy lived at home too. He and Mommy had been arguing a lot and Daddy didn’t come home until very late at night and Mommy would lock him outside. Then he had to get his own apartment and I can go there once a week.
Daddy is from Mexico and we all went to live there a few years ago, but now we live in Kansas City. My Mommy is from Oregon and I lived there too.
Daddy and Mommy were very young when I was born and even though they were married they didn’t do it right and I’ve heard Mommy call Daddy an “illegal immigrant.” I’m not sure what that means, but I know it has something to do with the Government and Daddy looks real worried when Mom says that.
Daddy can speak English and Spanish and so can I, but Mom only speaks English and when she speaks a little Spanish she sounds funny and is silly.
Without Daddy at home our electricity was turned off, then our phone and then our water. I showered over at the neighbor’s and we could use their phone too. Our neighbor grew up in Oregon too and she and my Mom used to be best friends. But now they shout at each other too.
Mommy said not to worry because I would be going to Oregon soon to stay with her aunt Rosie for my summer vacation.
I love staying with Rosie and her friend Phil, they are not really my aunts, but they tell me to call them Aunty. Last year when I stayed with them I got new clothes and dolls and got to eat all the time. They wanted me to eat the same food as them. At home, Mom let’s me eat whatever I want.
We also have a dog and three cats, so when we go on vacation they have to be looked after by our other neighbor Ann. She has three dogs, a cat and a baby of her own called Chris, he is two.
Oregon was beautiful, not nearly as hot as Kansas City. I stayed in Eugene with Rosie and Phil, but Mommy spent most of her time up in Portland with all her old friends. She didn’t come to see me much and when I did see her she looked very sad. I heard Rosie giving out to her and Mommy shouted back.
Mommy went home a week before me because she was going to climb mountains in Colorado. I know she’s going with her new boyfriend. The blond guy from the nice restaurant our neighbor Sandra works at. She won’t tell me about him, but it’s hard not to know.
Rosie came back to Kansas City with me. She paid all the bills, and got the roof fixed. I loved all my new clothes and shoes but Mommy didn’t like how they looked on me. When I went to bed I heard Rosie shouting and Mommy crying.
In the morning I got to see my dog and the cats and Sarah the chicken. I don’t know where the roosters went. Everyone was whispering and someone said they went to heaven.
I went back to school in August and hated it. Everyone can read and spell and count and even though I am the tallest in the class, I get stuck all the time. I wish I didn’t have to go to school at all, except to play with my friends.
Mommy is not friends with any of the neighbors and Daddy doesn’t even come to pick me up. I get to stay at home by myself, something none of my friends are allowed to do.
I’m going to be eight next week, but Mommy said I can’t have a party until next month when she gets paid. I really want to have a birthday party. Sandra and her husband said they would give me one and all the kids around the neighborhood can come. But Mommy says it can’t be called my birthday party, just a party and we can’t sing Happy Birthday either. Sandra’s husband said Mommy is being “ignorant as hell.” His mom died this year and he’s been grumpy all year. But I think he is right and I want to have a birthday party.
A few weeks later Mom threw me a birthday party and invited lots of adults. She let me make the cake and I didn’t like it. I felt like crying when they all sang “Happy Birthday.” It wasn’t very much fun, but I did get some nice presents.
The next day Sarah the chicken went missing and our dog ate my new toys. He had already eaten my shoes, the futon, the couch and did his business all over the house. Sandra and her husband had taken him for awhile, but he was too much for them with their own two dogs. They gave him back after he had eaten a hole in their wall. That’s why Mom fell out with them. Mommy wanted to send him to the animal shelter, but I cried so much that she didn’t.
All the chickens are gone, and the cats keep running away and Daddy is nowhere. I want Jose around, even if he was a stupid dog that eats everything.
Our phone was cut off again and so was the electricity. Mommy had a friend move into the spare room and he paid the bills and everything was turned on again.
He’s really nice, but he’s only Mommy’s friend. She is still seeing the blond guy, but she never lets me see him. Roger, the new roommate stays at home to look after me because he doesn’t have a job or a car. He just got out of the Marines. He said he had been in Iraq and many other places around the world. Jose got sick on his discharge papers and he was really mad and said he can’t get a job now.
He takes Jose for walks and when Daddy does come around he doesn’t shout at Mommy anymore. I like Roger, I hope he stays.
Christmas will be coming soon and I’ve been told to keep my letter to Santa very short. There are so many things I would like him to bring me (Brian and Lady count as one wish), but I can’t decide which ones to write down.
It snowed the week before Christmas and we went sledding over at the Korean Church. It was very cold, but baby Chris and the Puerto Rican’s kid went too. Roger was there and Sandra and her husband. Mommy came late and did a lot of complaining and wanted us to hurry up so she could go see her boyfriend. I wish she would stay with me more.
Christmas was really nice and Rosie sent me a whole new outfit. Sandra and her husband had us over for dinner and I ate two helpings. Her husband wasn’t too grumpy on Christmas and even gave me a nice present.
I spent Christmas Eve with Daddy, so I didn’t get to see him on Christmas day. The snow melted from the week before, so that was one wish I didn’t get from Santa.
The day after Christmas, which Sandra’s husband calls St. Stephen’s Day, was warm and I was allowed to play outside with no coat on. Jose was tied up to a tree, but he kept barking at the bushes. I went over to see what was wrong with him.
Santa had answered one of my wishes: There was Sarah. I picked her up and she clucked a few times. Just then Sandra and her husband came outside. They called across the road to me and I shouted back “Sarah came home today.” Everything was going to be all right.
Last year Daddy lived at home too. He and Mommy had been arguing a lot and Daddy didn’t come home until very late at night and Mommy would lock him outside. Then he had to get his own apartment and I can go there once a week.
Daddy is from Mexico and we all went to live there a few years ago, but now we live in Kansas City. My Mommy is from Oregon and I lived there too.
Daddy and Mommy were very young when I was born and even though they were married they didn’t do it right and I’ve heard Mommy call Daddy an “illegal immigrant.” I’m not sure what that means, but I know it has something to do with the Government and Daddy looks real worried when Mom says that.
Daddy can speak English and Spanish and so can I, but Mom only speaks English and when she speaks a little Spanish she sounds funny and is silly.
Without Daddy at home our electricity was turned off, then our phone and then our water. I showered over at the neighbor’s and we could use their phone too. Our neighbor grew up in Oregon too and she and my Mom used to be best friends. But now they shout at each other too.
Mommy said not to worry because I would be going to Oregon soon to stay with her aunt Rosie for my summer vacation.
I love staying with Rosie and her friend Phil, they are not really my aunts, but they tell me to call them Aunty. Last year when I stayed with them I got new clothes and dolls and got to eat all the time. They wanted me to eat the same food as them. At home, Mom let’s me eat whatever I want.
We also have a dog and three cats, so when we go on vacation they have to be looked after by our other neighbor Ann. She has three dogs, a cat and a baby of her own called Chris, he is two.
Oregon was beautiful, not nearly as hot as Kansas City. I stayed in Eugene with Rosie and Phil, but Mommy spent most of her time up in Portland with all her old friends. She didn’t come to see me much and when I did see her she looked very sad. I heard Rosie giving out to her and Mommy shouted back.
Mommy went home a week before me because she was going to climb mountains in Colorado. I know she’s going with her new boyfriend. The blond guy from the nice restaurant our neighbor Sandra works at. She won’t tell me about him, but it’s hard not to know.
Rosie came back to Kansas City with me. She paid all the bills, and got the roof fixed. I loved all my new clothes and shoes but Mommy didn’t like how they looked on me. When I went to bed I heard Rosie shouting and Mommy crying.
In the morning I got to see my dog and the cats and Sarah the chicken. I don’t know where the roosters went. Everyone was whispering and someone said they went to heaven.
I went back to school in August and hated it. Everyone can read and spell and count and even though I am the tallest in the class, I get stuck all the time. I wish I didn’t have to go to school at all, except to play with my friends.
Mommy is not friends with any of the neighbors and Daddy doesn’t even come to pick me up. I get to stay at home by myself, something none of my friends are allowed to do.
I’m going to be eight next week, but Mommy said I can’t have a party until next month when she gets paid. I really want to have a birthday party. Sandra and her husband said they would give me one and all the kids around the neighborhood can come. But Mommy says it can’t be called my birthday party, just a party and we can’t sing Happy Birthday either. Sandra’s husband said Mommy is being “ignorant as hell.” His mom died this year and he’s been grumpy all year. But I think he is right and I want to have a birthday party.
A few weeks later Mom threw me a birthday party and invited lots of adults. She let me make the cake and I didn’t like it. I felt like crying when they all sang “Happy Birthday.” It wasn’t very much fun, but I did get some nice presents.
The next day Sarah the chicken went missing and our dog ate my new toys. He had already eaten my shoes, the futon, the couch and did his business all over the house. Sandra and her husband had taken him for awhile, but he was too much for them with their own two dogs. They gave him back after he had eaten a hole in their wall. That’s why Mom fell out with them. Mommy wanted to send him to the animal shelter, but I cried so much that she didn’t.
All the chickens are gone, and the cats keep running away and Daddy is nowhere. I want Jose around, even if he was a stupid dog that eats everything.
Our phone was cut off again and so was the electricity. Mommy had a friend move into the spare room and he paid the bills and everything was turned on again.
He’s really nice, but he’s only Mommy’s friend. She is still seeing the blond guy, but she never lets me see him. Roger, the new roommate stays at home to look after me because he doesn’t have a job or a car. He just got out of the Marines. He said he had been in Iraq and many other places around the world. Jose got sick on his discharge papers and he was really mad and said he can’t get a job now.
He takes Jose for walks and when Daddy does come around he doesn’t shout at Mommy anymore. I like Roger, I hope he stays.
Christmas will be coming soon and I’ve been told to keep my letter to Santa very short. There are so many things I would like him to bring me (Brian and Lady count as one wish), but I can’t decide which ones to write down.
It snowed the week before Christmas and we went sledding over at the Korean Church. It was very cold, but baby Chris and the Puerto Rican’s kid went too. Roger was there and Sandra and her husband. Mommy came late and did a lot of complaining and wanted us to hurry up so she could go see her boyfriend. I wish she would stay with me more.
Christmas was really nice and Rosie sent me a whole new outfit. Sandra and her husband had us over for dinner and I ate two helpings. Her husband wasn’t too grumpy on Christmas and even gave me a nice present.
I spent Christmas Eve with Daddy, so I didn’t get to see him on Christmas day. The snow melted from the week before, so that was one wish I didn’t get from Santa.
The day after Christmas, which Sandra’s husband calls St. Stephen’s Day, was warm and I was allowed to play outside with no coat on. Jose was tied up to a tree, but he kept barking at the bushes. I went over to see what was wrong with him.
Santa had answered one of my wishes: There was Sarah. I picked her up and she clucked a few times. Just then Sandra and her husband came outside. They called across the road to me and I shouted back “Sarah came home today.” Everything was going to be all right.
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