My Life Will Never Be The Same after My Mom’s Gone to Jail

This event in my life really changed me because my mom making a decisions in her life turned me upside down. She wasn’t bad person or even evil; she was bake sale take you shopping kind of mom. When it came down to doing the right thing, she was less than smart about it. I can’t speak for her about why she wouldn’t just do the right thing or even why she couldn’t tell the truth. All I can tell you is that my point of view of her when her stealing and lies took a turn for the worst and landed her in jail.

My mom went to jail for writing checks in my mentally sick great aunt Tina name while she was hospital. What I didn’t know is that my mom Carol J Ward who used to bake cookie for my sleepover had a track record of this for years. Long before I was even a thought in her mind, she was someone before me that is hard to wrap around your head when you're ten. When my mom and my dad told us; we were at a close friend house, and they said need tell us something so we went to a bedroom. I thought it was about the cut hair I gave younger sister early that week because nobody notices. My sister Kristin and I sat there on bed as my mom try to lie to us and said that she was going on vacation for a while. When she tried tell us, she broke that was the first time in my life I’ve seen my mom cry. She tried to pull herself together, but the whole room felt like it was filling up with a gas that couldn’t get away from. My eyes welled up with tears couldn’t even see what she was saying it felt like the world stopped as she dragged on with her grocery list tone of the truth. She told us that everything be alright even though she said it with this confident. I could tell by my dad face that was a lie too. I felt shame and somehow it was my fault and I remembered looking down at my Kim Possible light up shoes thinking if I didn't ask for this she wouldn't be going to jail. Which makes no sense in the adult world but in kid world it made perfect sense. It was obviously my fault.

My parent always had money problems as kid that was their topic every night for them, and I share wall with their room. What I would call augmenting today, they would they say talking loudly between adults. I didn’t know my mom couldn’t keep a job, and i guess that what confused my dad. She was education with degree in art and minor in journalism. She was stealing from each job then move on to the next for long time, but eventually she said that got a job. When she started slowly taking from my aunt which ended up being somewhere around $15,000. I definitely noticed that I didn't get any more hand me downs from my older sisters anymore, and we were shopping at big department stores like Macy's and limited too. She bought me the Kim Possible shoes that's been bugging her for months and saying that there were $39.99 only. Life was good my parent weren’t agreeing as much life was the best in these few months.

After those few months everything hit the fan my aunt Tina press charges against my mom and our family begins to divide slowly. My dad found out about my mom's track record from my grandma. She was arrested at my birthday sleepover party in front of everybody. My little sister Kristin screaming in the background and everything else was silent. There stares said I know why she should going and I feel sorry for you as everyone left the party. She missed her court date but my dad didn't bail her out instead he divorced her three month later. While she service out her time she wrote 100 hundreds of letters to us. They always said “I’m sorry” somewhere in them while I ignored them Kristin respond to everyone that she sent and count down until she would of got out. Until she those job she stole from caught with her. The 18 months sentenced turn into 6 year in prison according to judge of Kane county.

My dad had to learn how to be a mom if that makes any sense. He had to learn how to listen and know the difference between a real fight and sibling rivalry. He had to learn what tight were and why you had to wear them with dresses. He always distracted us on Mother's Day took us out of town or on vacation. My Dad how to learn how to cook something other than bacon. There were many attempts then pizza was just ordered after many meals turned black. He had some people help them away like my grandma teaching him how to cook and my god mom telling him what's appropriate for us to wear.

I think my mom decision ultimately made me a better person and made me more independent. Unfortunately for her she passed away two years into her sentence of cancer. I've always thought about how to be different if she didn't do she did. She didn't get a funeral but she is it to be buried in the family plot. All I really know is I will never do that to my children go to jail.