I know.
I mean, I'm not homeless because of it. Still, he's amassed quite the massive debt for the family, which my mother has always toiled to try and pay off. Between his predilections for spending all his money on getting drunk, totaling cars when he gets drunk, and being on unemployment for years at a time, he hasn't created the best life for my sister and I growing up. Not the worst, mind, but I should hope if I ever have kids I would do better.

On the plus side of things, because of how he acted, I got tired of not having things, so I've been employed in one job or another for the last 7 years, since I could legally start working at 14. Looks good on a job application once I start trying to find a real job, so I guess that's something good to come from him in a roundabout way.

There's more I could write up, but honestly the memory that sticks out as exemplar of his parenting skills was when I broke my fingers one night. Told him I needed to go to the hospital, and showed him my obviously broken fingers. His response? "Oh, come on! It's a Friday night, hospitals are so busy in the ER, and they don't get USA on their TVs. It's a new episode of Monk. Wait until tomorrow morning, and if it's still broke we'll go then."

But as you, say, I don't have it as bad as some. It could be worse by far, and I'm glad it isn't. Hell, I'm sure as I read this the other stories, I'll find many worse ones.
( Ithyphallophobia, Sat 26 Feb 2011, 18:11, Reply)