The year was 2000
And I was 7 and my brother was 5
We always went to the lake near the park
My dad and brother would play baseball
While my mom and I picked flowers
Sometimes my parents would sneak off
And act like they were in love
And I loved them with all my heart
Because we were a family

The year was 2002
And I was 9 and my brother was 7
We never went to the lake anymore
Because my mom and dad would fight a lot
Sometimes I could hear them from my room
And my brother would come in at night and whisper “I’m scared”
I was scared too
But I still loved them
Because we were a family

The year was 2003
And I was 10 and my brother was 8
And we finally went to the lake
My brother wanted to play baseball
And I wanted to pick flowers
But my parents said they were getting a divorce
And my brother and I cried the whole car ride home
And it was hard to love them
Because we were a broken family

The year was 2004
And I was 11 and my brother was 9
And my parents would take us to the lake
Where we picked flowers and played baseball
My parents would laugh
And got along like best friends
And I loved them with all my heart
Because we acted like a family

The year is 2006
And I am 13 and my brother is 11
We celebrated my birthday at the lake
But my dad wasn’t there, just like the year before
And mom never has time to pick flowers
Because she is busy working
And my brother is trying out for the baseball team this year
But he has no one to practice with
And I don’t know who to love anymore
Because now we aren’t a family