My Story; My Experience

My Story; My Experience 

By: Annette Priestly

"You never know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have." - unknown

June 15, 2012
It had been such a long train ride from Vermont, but when I finally got to Virginia, it had been worth it to see my beautiful granddaughter. It was a good thing I got there when I did too! I can’t believe she had been living on her own for a week! I can’t even begin to imagine how scared she was. Once I found out that her mother had left poor Aubrey all by herself, I was disappointed in my daughter. You can’t abandon your child. When I called around, nobody seemed to know where she had gone, not the Aunts, the Uncles, or the ladies she helps at church! So, I really did try to do everything I could to help Aubrey, and make her feel better! If she was going to be sad, I needed to make her happy again. Nothing made me feel worse than seeing Aubrey’s eyes tear up, even though she was holding the tears back, or seeing her sit as still as could be, not playing like normal! I knew she had a hard time when her father and sister passed away, but when her mother left, I knew that was what hurt her the most. I decided that I needed to take her back to Vermont with me.

July 1, 2012
When I brought Aubrey over toVermont, I did it to get her away from her home, in hopes leaving would also leave behind the painful memories. She was not always happy about this, but I gave her a list of chores everyday. I did this because I wanted to get her out of the house, so she wasn’t sitting around all day. It was summertime, and she needed some fresh air! I introduced her to my neighbors, who had a daughter her age! Her name is Bridget and I hoped her and Aubrey would be good friends. She needed something to get her mind off of her situation. When I was little, when I felt sad or upset, I could always turn to a friend, and I was hoping that was what Aubrey could do. I know it can be hard for her because I’m an adult and it’s hard for her to relate to me, so someone her age might be able to help her even a little bit more that I can! I miss my old Aubrey, and I hope that she can get through this, because I want her to be herself again.

August 30, 2012
Summer is finally over, and it’s back to school time. I used to love school when I was a kid. A chance to take responsibility and be with my friends! Aubrey on the other hand, strongly dislikes school, and now that she has to start at a new school with lots of children she doesn’t know, I think we’re in for a long year! I think that I’m going to set her up with a social worker at her new school. I don’t think she’ll like the idea, but I think she’s getting tired of her grandmother telling her what to do, and trying to help. She needs other people now, not just me. I also think it’s going to be hard because seeing all of those children are going to make her miss her home. There is also something else that I’m worried about. On one of the first few days of school, I know she will not want to go. September 15th to be exact; Savannah’s Birthday (Aubrey's little sister.) Aubrey would not want to, nor listen to me about going to school that day because she missed her sister so much (like I mentioned earlier, she had died recently in a car crash.) I don’t know what I’m going to do! I don’t want Aubrey to know, but I’m praying and worried for her. I hope that things will begin to change, but I’m not sure.

December 29, 2012
Aubrey’s been in school for some time now, and I think things are going well. Though, we got to Christmas break, and things started to go back to where we started, with no progress made about feeling loved or cared for. It was almost Christmas and Aubrey had some crazy idea that her mother would be back for Christmas, and I (though I thought it was a bit crazy) secretly wanted her to come back as well. I couldn’t bare to see Aubrey so hopeful, when I knew that her hope would just be shattered when her mother didn’t show up to Christmas. Things were crazy! We had to get the tree, and the ornaments, and set up decorations, and cook, and buy presents! Everything seemed to happen so quickly until it was finally Christmas eve. The family all came over; all the Aunts and Uncles, and Cousins, but I knew Aubrey didn’t care, the only person she wanted there was her mother. I was watching the doors, and the windows all night hoping, that maybe, just maybe, it would be a Christmas miracle. Then it was time for mass. I prayed every single second at mass that my daughter would be home for Christmas for Aubrey. She needed her mom, and I felt terrible that she hadn’t come. When we got home, I think Aubrey expected her to be there waiting, but she wasn’t and not only Aubrey, but I was ready to cry. It was a terrible Christmas. Aubrey wouldn’t eat, and all she wanted to do was crawl into a hole. I couldn’t really stomach anything either. I felt like I had somehow let Aubrey down, but I didn’t know if there was anything else I could do to help.

January 18, 2013
Something crazy has happened, Aubrey’s mother, my very own Lissie, came back. Though, I was not pleased. She just barged in, and requested to see Aubrey. Though, I wasn’t about to let her. She seemed just about as fit for a parent as a carpet. She left, and that move lost my trust, and I don’t know if she’ll be able to gain it back. She came back with a new haircut, and a new attitude. She had been selfish to Aubrey, and she thought she was just going to get her back like that, but that wasn’t how it was going to work. Once I thought that she was fit to care for a child again, that was when I was going to let her take Aubrey home. I knew all Aubrey wanted was her mom, but she wasn’t mother material, and I think it’s hard for a kid to tell if there is a responsible person taking care of them. Aubrey wasn’t able to tell that her mother was no longer fit for a mother. She could only tell that she had changed on the outside, not on the inside. Or maybe, she could, but I really couldn’t tell. Lissie seemed to get better, but I was afraid to let Aubrey off on her own with her, so I let Aubrey make the decision. I told her whatever she chose, I would support her, because I loved her, but I secretly wanted her to stay with me, because I knew I was going to miss her too much once she was gone. Though, to my delight, she chose to stay with me, and when the time is right, hopefully, her mother would be in her life again, but just not yet. I hope that one day we can all be together, but right now, I need to focus on caring for Aubrey, and carrying on in life. Hopefully, we can start a new beginning.

About Me!

This is me with Aubrey when she was a little girl. I am now 64 years old, and feeling great. I have light grey hair, that's very thin and short, though my hair used to be a beautiful, golden blonde. I have brown eyes, and thin eyebrows. I've had strong and healthy teeth my whole life, and am said to have a great smile. I've always been average height, and light skinned. I've lived  in Vermont my whole life in my nice little house. I had three children, and when they were younger, I was a stay at home mom, though I always wanted to be a teacher. I had a husband, but he passed away a few years back from pneumonia, and I've missed him ever since. I've always enjoyed gardening, and cooking with the fresh foods I grow in my garden. My goals for the future would be to grow a larger garden with an even larger variety of plants, and vegetables, and I would also like to do some work on my house; add layers of new paint, maybe some new furniture. Everything is pretty old considering I've lived in my house for a very long period of my life. I also hope to help my granddaughter Aubrey with something she's been going through, because I love her, and she's been through such a hard time in her life.

Interests!

I mentioned that I really love to cook, so I'm interested in learning some new delicious, and healthy recipes to tryout from the things I've been growing in my garden.

I also talked about how I love to garden, and I think that I'm going to try to grow some different things in my garden.

Something else that I really enjoy, is reading! So, I think I'm going to try and read some great books soon! I feel that I've been trying so hard to problem solve lately that I haven't had time to read a good book, cook new things, or expand my garden, and I hope that soon, I will start some of these things!

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Thanks for reading about my life, and I hope you enjoyed learning about me!

Credit to:
neyna143.blogspot.com 
greatist.com

crowleyisdtx.org

268pastor.wordpress.com

www.dreamstime.com
www.gailperry.com