Uncles Lessons

In '91' during my senior year of high school my folks split up. The whole thing was a mess, with me being sent off to relatives while my mom took my younger siblings to the gulf coast to stay with her parents. They sold the house and Dad moved to be with his new future 'ex-wife' outside of Dallas.

Since I am older by about 7 years, and was in high school I did not want to leave town in my last year. No way did I want to be sent off to someplace I did not know, and be the 'new kid' loser.

With no other options I was forced to go stay at my mom's sisters, 'Aunt Margie' out on a farm roughly 18 miles away from anything, and 30 miles from my school. It was not a great situation, and I was not happy with either of my parent's recent choices. To make things worse my Aunt Margie and her husband 'Uncle' Bob were infamous in the community as hardcore bible toting zealots.

The 'footloose' variety of swift water Baptists that don't dance, see movies, or have fun other than Sunday picnics. They were so hardcore that mom and Aunt did not speak for 3 years prior when the youngest of my Aunts 3 daughters moved in with her college boyfriend, and got preggo. My mom had told her to 'chill out and stop being such a bitch'. It was a monster fight, and ended in my Aunt leaving yelling about 'praying' for the children in such a house, and my Mom slamming the door behind her.

Looking back I am certain it was a painful call for my mom when she asked if I could come live with them for the majority of my senior year. It was also a morale victory for my Aunt who had predicted the event years earlier.

So it came to pass that I packed up and moved in with my empty nest Aunt and Uncle early that fall. I was given my Cousin Jenny's room in the corner of the basement since she had been married with kids and living a few hours away for almost a decade now.

I quickly hung posters, threw my stuff about, and made myself a nest the way teenage boys generally do. My Aunt complained regularly they will have to 'wall the door shut to keep the stink from spreading' when I move out.