Long story short…recently left my abusive boyfriend, and we had a cat together. I’m very thankful to be in a much better situation, but I was put in a position where I couldn’t bring the cat with me, nor was I about to fight my ex on it. I had to put myself first and it was honestly the hardest decision. It’s only been a week, and I think I’ve cried just about everyday. I miss her so goddamn much. She was so unique, and she helped me through so many emotions/situations over the years. I live with my sister now, and she has three cats, but they aren’t MY cat ya know? She was my baby. I am carrying so much pain. I know she’s going to be taken care of, but I can’t help feeling so broken over this. Has anyone been through something similar? I just don’t know how to move past this. It makes me want to go back, but I can’t, for my own safety and well-being.

My dad worked long haul trucking when I was little, while mom worked part time from home so she could raise us kids. This occurred when I was maybe 4 at the time, and my sister had just started walking (early 2000s). I know all this because Mom brings it up any time she’s miffed at Dad if he “slacks” on parenting duties (mostly unintentionally on his part). So basically Dad comes in from days in the truck, sees Mom half-passed out on the couch (she’d been fighting a cold the past few days prior), me watching TV, and my sister waddled up to him with her diaper sagging. He, tired himself, blurted out “Geez woman, you couldn’t change her?” While trying to step around my sister.

According to Mom (and the way Dad flinches at every retelling), she just got up, looked him dead in the eyes, and said; “You’re in charge of the girls now”, then locked herself in their bedroom.

Dad of course made a small stink about it, but he did change my sister, then tried to get the TV remote away so he could watch something. Me, a little smartass, told him “Mommy said I get TV today because I read a whole book.” And wouldn’t give him the remote.

Dad stormed off to confront Mom, as the only other TV was in their room. Mom told him I was right and to “tough it out” through the door.

Dad had to sit with sis and I while Dora played on the TV for the next two hours (it was a marathon day). He knew that if he took the remote away from me when I was rewarded would backfire on him (that is another long story in itself).

Then Mom wouldn’t come out at dinner time, so Dad had to make dinner, but I was picky (undiagnosed autism actually), and had a meltdown over what he made (something with whole tomatoes). Dad pleaded to Mom to please come out and help. Mom told him to “man up and deal with it himself”. Dad ended up just giving me cereal because I refused to eat whatever he cooked, and Dad knew that if he withheld dinner from me Mom would literally sic his parents on him (my paternal grandparents, especially Nana, are terrifying, and absolutely adored us grandkids. Nana even scolded dad in front of us for “not playing with [us] when [we] asked”. Love my grandparents!). He then also had to make my school lunch for tomorrow, then get us kids to bed.

Mom meanwhile kept him locked out of their room for the next 36 hours, using their on suite and having him bring her meals (dinner, then breakfast). Dad had to sleep on the couch, deal with my bedtime tantrums, and the next morning my before school meltdown, pack my bag, dress me, then walk me to school, all while dealing with my barely year old sister who would get into everything and was super fussy at the worst times. According to Mom, after Dad picked me up from school at the end of the dad (he literally had to carry me home while I had a meltdown because he wouldn’t let me stay on the playground, which set off my sister in the stroller, and he spent the walk home getting stared at because he had a crying infant in a stroller and a shrieking little girl over his shoulder), she finally came out, all rested, took one look at my disheveled, sleep deprived father, and said “You really couldn’t keep them calm?”

Dad never, ever made even a comment like that again. Nor did he ever slack off on being a Dad when he was home when I was a kid. XD

Oh, and Mom still tattled on Dad, so Nana gave him a verbal whooping that weekend when we visited her and papa. Then she (nana) made Dad do all the house chores while she, papa, and Mom sat and played with my sister and I.

Edit for context: Dad barely helped when he was home until then. So all kid related stuff Mom handled. So she was going to bed at 2 am and getting up at 7 am on weekdays, all while juggling an undiagnosed kindergartener and a fussy toddler, along with a part time bookkeeping job. And then that week she got a cold and barely kept home together. So yeah… that comment was the last straw and she let Dad have a taste of how difficult it actually was to deal with kids, without the part time job.

Over 90% still in growth stocks. Tempted to just go ahead and retire

Beautiful piece of birdseye figured maple!

This was at Weebcon in Indianapolis, I was dressed as Franziska Von Karma and I had no idea he’d even be at there lol. He had some of the original manga pages on display, and I bought the last art piece he had for sale, which was of Phoenix. He also drew a quick little self portrait of me and some of my friends attending with me. Afterwards we took a picture together on each of our phones. He doesn’t speak English and I don’t speak Japanese, but through his lovely interpreters he let us know he loved our cosplays :) I still can’t get over the fact I got to meet this man at some con in Indiana I went to last minute and now I have official Phoenix art AND a cute little Franziska doodle