Tuesday 5 April 2016

Defining Moment






One defining moment in my life was when my father left 5 year old me me in his car at three a.m in the morning with our cat, Megu, to attend a party while we went “camping”. We originally were not supposed to spend the night the plan was to go and visit my dad’s friend at his trailer for the day. That plan quickly changed when my dad was offered his 5th beer. The day wasn’t too bad I spent it playing with other kids that were also “camping”. Later that night we were sitting around the campfire and things were going pretty good. I roasted marshmallows and my friend Shiane roasted a banana, I don't know why she roasted a banana, but she did. We stayed up really late and around 12 I decided that I should to to bed. I told my dad that I was going to bed and right after I did so my dad’s friend, Craig, said “oh the kids are going to bed now. There’s going to be a party over at one of the other guy’s campsites since the kids are going to be asleep do you want to go?” I quickly intervened and said “I don’t want you to go” to my dad. My dad said “why?” And i said “because I don’t want to spend the night alone and….i'm five…”. He seemed to realize it was a bad idea and went to bed in his jeep shortly after I got in. The next thing I remember was waking up to Megu’s ear piercing screeches.. . I guess he couldn't sleep. I quickly realized that my dad wasn’t there and I started to cry. I don’t know exactly how long I cried in the car talking to Megu, but at some point I decided that it would be a good idea to get out of the car and search for my dad. I also decided it would be a good idea to take Megu with me because I couldn’t just abandon him like my dad abandoned me I didn’t want to be hypocritical. I got out of the car and proceeded to walk around in the dark carrying Megu and crying. I don't really remember how long I was searching, but i'm sure it didn’t take me long to hear led zeppelin playing in the distance I followed the music and got to the party. I walked around the side of the trailer and walked right into the center of middle aged drunk men and just stood there staring at my dad with Megu. I was trying not to cry because I wanted him to know I was mad. But then I started crying. My dad jumped up and said “oh i have to go now” and he apologized to me and walked me back to the car and told me “don’t tell your mother”. This was a defining moment in my life because this moment made me more independent. Even though I was only five after that night I realized that you can’t always rely on people to take care of you… even when they're supposed to and you have to learn to not always trust what people tell you. When got home I was understandably angry still so I told my mom.                

4 comments:

  1. Jesse, this post is evidence of your ultimate strength. It takes great courage to share such a personal experience, especially one that highlights the poor decisions of someone who is supposed to protect you. Additionally, your ability to reflect on it now, and realize that it led to your independence.

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  2. So sad but also uplifting. Even as a young boy you were strong enough to stand up when you knew something wasn't right, even if you didn't get the reaction you needed/expected. I can relate very well to this situation, as I had a similar relationship growing up. The fact that you carry yourself with such confidence and strength today really is a by-product of this moment, and I admire this quality.

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  3. That probably took a lot of courage to do that. Hope Megu is doing good. Very scary to think your dad would just leave you like that, hope he doesn't do that again!!

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  4. That probably took a lot of courage to do that. Hope Megu is doing good. Very scary to think your dad would just leave you like that, hope he doesn't do that again!!

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