The Year 2009
In life there will be a time when one encounters unexpected challenges and struggles that will change their life. To prove that theory, it happened to me. I never thought that my family would suffer through this dreadful experience. For all I knew, I was looking forward to a great year. After all, it was a year to remember.
It all began the year of 2009, when everything was going great until my parents’ suddenly started to act different. I could not fully understand what was going on at the time, but I soon realized that my parents’ were stressed because of their businesses. This caused them to argue constantly. It got to the point where my father began to drink alcohol excessively. I saw this as his way to relieve stress.
Then it dawned on me that it seemed my life was falling apart; everything happened so fast. Eventually my mother could not take any more of the arguments and ‘gave up’. The next thing I knew, I was leaving my home for India in a few days with my mother and sister. I was furious and devastated because my sister and I were the ones to suffer. It seemed to me that my parents’ were being selfish because of the choices they made, and did not realize how I would feel. But at the time it seemed like the right thing to do for my mother because she did not have any close relatives or close friends to support her… I guess that is why she felt the need to get away from home - she felt alone.
It was a cold and gloomy October day. We packed our luggage and waited for the taxi to arrive. Before it was time to leave for the airport, I walked around my room and the house, and I stared at the pictures on the wall. It was in that moment I wanted to scream! Scream as loud as I could and cry. I never thought it would come to this point of defeat, but I felt like we were leaving for a very long time, and may never return. It was a lot for me to take in, especially all at once. Keep in mind I was only thirteen years old.
Weeks went by and I was still adapting to the life in India. The weather was so humid all the time, the life here was very fast and busy. There was not a lot for me to go and see because of the situation we were in. I was still upset that I had to leave home, but I wanted to be there for my mother, although I did miss my dad very much. I really hoped every day that all of this was just a dream, a nightmare that would soon come to an end. A few days later my mother received a phone call from her mother-in-law. She told my mother that my father’s condition was becoming worse each day; he was becoming an alcoholic. Without my mother being there my father did not seem to care about anything because the alcohol was locking him in. His health extremely deteriorated, and he let everything slip away through his hands. He let the businesses go in debt and sold our house. No matter how upset my mother was she put all the differences aside and decided that it is time for us to go back to Canada. She knew my father needed us, and we needed him. I was glad when I found out we were heading home yet I was scared, I was not sure what to expect once we arrived.
When I got home nothing seemed to get any better. I was so upset when I found out our fairly new home was sold; we only lived there for three years. My parents’ continued arguing and my father continued abusing alcohol. Weeks passed by and nothing seemed to change. The day came when it was time for us to move out of our beloved home. We moved from a really nice big house to a two bedroom townhouse. I was so upset that I felt like running away from home and just crying - I was scared. Every day the neighbors’ would see my father, he looked severely ill, the alcohol was taking over his mind. It was time, my father needed to go to the hospital. His skin was turning yellow because of the alcohol, he engaged Hepatitis B Symptoms, Kidney Failure, and so on. My father refused to go to the hospital because he thought he was doing fine, but he was not. Everyone could see it but him. My mother called the ambulance and they came to my home and took my father to the Cambridge Hospital. I was scared and confused, I had no idea what was going on, and all I knew was that my father was rushed to the hospital. The doctors at the Cambridge Hospital said that there was no hope for my father that he was at the last stage, in other words he was dying. My mother did not give up, she had faith in my father, and she requested the doctors to keep trying, the doctors then decided to transfer my father to the Grand River Hospital.
Months went by; I finally graduated from grade 8. I was slightly depressed on graduation day, the fact that my mother had to miss the ceremony half way through because she received a phone call that my father may pass away tonight. I spent every day of summer at the hospital. I visited my father all the time, although I was not able to see him a lot because his condition was very severe in the I.C.U. My mother spent her days crying all the time for my father, there was no happiness, nothing to smile about anymore. Things were becoming even more complicated. At the time my mother was not working, it was hard for her to pay all of the bills, groceries, and personal expenses. It was hard for my mother to support herself, my sister, and me; she was on her own and had no one by her side. I remember when we had no electricity and warm water for a week because my mother was unable to pay the bill in time. I felt like crying, I kept thinking to myself that why this was happening to me, what I did wrong. I was so upset that I just wanted to stay home and be isolated; I did not want to go and see my friends or talk to them, although they were aware of a few things, and supported and comforted me because of everything that was going on. I knew that things would eventually clear up and get better, after all, “Like a rainbow after the rain, there’s always a good thing after the pain”.
From this dreadful experience, it changed me as a person and gave me a whole new perspective of the world. It changed me because I learned what alcohol can do to you, the fact being that Alcoholism runs in my family and is a big issue in general. I learned from this experience that there are others like me who may have it even worse, I got to experience how hard it is without having a father around, and live with no electricity, but I am still thankful for everything I had and have. This experience taught me a lot of things, it made me become a strong human being, and make good decisions because I have seen the result and experienced with my own two eyes of what can happen when people make bad decisions, but there is always a time in life were we will face struggles, but we have to be strong and overcome these challenges, that is how we learn from our mistakes so we do not repeat them again.