Saturday, December 04, 2004
I spoke with Kailey Marie (my little sister, age fourteen) last night. She told me Terri and The Father had gone to The Megabitch's (my older sister, age twenty-two) art exhibition at the University of Houston, leaving my siblings alone at the house to fend for themselves. I asked why Terri and The Father didn't bring Michael, Kailey, and Eddie along, and Kailey replied that Terri felt some of the art might not be "appropriate".
First, Michael is seventeen, Kailey is fourteen, and Eddie is twelve. They know the difference between art and pornography and they are quite old enough to begin learning how to comprehend deep or dark subject matter. Second, and more telling, The Father took them to The Megabitch's art show last year (before becoming too attached to Terri).
This episode worries me. The Father has always been explicitly against censoring things from us children. He bought Kailey a Playstation game entitled Bloodrayne for her twelfth birthday. She didn't ask for it, either- the gift sprouted entirely from his desire that she have something to play that involved a female lead. Bloodrayne's main character is a half-human vampire who drains her enemies' blood for life energy. But now Kailey is too immature to view the work of college art students.
Kailey and Eddie are far too timid/passive to speak up for themselves. They live in that house and they know who's the boss- it isn't The Father. He willingly subordinates himself, because actually performing parental duties scares him. He pulled this sort of crap sometimes when our real mommy was around, too. But Michael, Kailey, and Eddie are far too old for Terri to become a surrogate parent to them; they aren't seven, four, and two. The Father should be the one instilling values, not this stranger.
Kailey, the brave little soldier, said, 'Well... I have four more years.' Yeah, kid- and you'll probably end that period hooked to crystal meth, like Terri's oldest son. She didn't let her kids watch programs such as The Simpsons and she took them to Disneyland at least once, but The Megabitch and I are more intelligent and more successful than her precious boys.
I really wanted to avoid associating Terri with The Evil Stepmother, but I cannot help doing so when The Father willingly allows her to dominate the household. That, of course, does not imply he ought to be making all the decisions, either, but he could make some of them!
I am utterly relieved and grateful that April's family is housing me during winter break. Her parents know how to prioritize.
Sheesh gamungi.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 9:23 AM]