Let's see how far I can make it...
... without falling asleep in the process. :P
Well, a lot's been going lately. Even though I had promised not to take another teaching job, I ended up doing it, but since I was going pretty much insane, and my studies were really suffering from it, I had to leave one of them, even though the original teacher had extended her leave. I wasn't that happy with that school, actually, so when I was informed I could either accept extending my stay there or not without any issues, I decided not to. Besides, since the other school (the only one I'm working on right now) informed me last week that I'll be working with them all through October (and maybe even longer), I decided to keep that one alone. The kids are great and they work hard (or at least more of them! :P), and I also feel very comfortable there. I'm catching up with my studies now - I'm so behind with my reading, it's crazy. (Dracula is still glaring at me - I don't remember ever making it past page 100 XD)
Then, the other big piece of news is... that my sister got divorced. If you've been around this LJ long enough, you'll understand me if I whoop in joy. It's not something to be happy about it, I know, and even if I'm not, I'm definitely relieved. He was such a bastard to her, to their kids and to us for so long (22 years, people!), that you can imagine the relief I felt when she told me she had made the decision of asking him to leave the house. The good thing about it is that my sister is doing very, very well. Like I said, she's the one that made the decision, and while it wasn't easy, she's relieved now that he's out of her life. Of course, he's not out of our lives for good, not as long as my nephews are involved, but not having to see his face or stand his rude comments and behavior towards us is enough.
This was something that had been going round my sister's head for a long, long time. Two or three years ago, she had been told him very clearly that she didn't love him anymore. I can imagine how hard it was for her, the kids being the biggest reason why she had asked him to leave years ago. Knowing my sister, and having talked about this issue and many other things so much in the past two weeks (since they separated), she endured many, many things in silence. We've always been there for her, and while she trusts me a lot, I suppose it's hard to share some things, especially when you know exactly how your family will react (meaning: we'll jump at his throat, which is pretty much what we've been wanting to do since 1988 and never did since my sister was in the middle).
He didn't take it very well, of course, even if he had had a two-year notice. He never appreciated my sister, had raging issues, and had absolutely no problem on insulting his wife or his kids either in private or in public. No one, and I mean not one of our relatives, my sister's friends/ colleagues, not one of them could stand him. If we did, it was just because she was in the middle. On the first week he acted all civilized, but he's beginning to show his teeth now. Which isn't that surprising, really. I've been begging my sister to be careful, since he's pretty much a time bomb, and with his instability, only God knows when he'll explode.
The day they decided to separate, he asked to talk with me and my mom. I was a 100% sure he would come in his usual self and blame us for everything that had happened, but he was very tame. He even cried. And, of course, I didn't believe a single thing. He had TWENTY years to make things better. He never tried. He treated us in the worst ways. And it was so hard for me to pretend that I cared... because I didn't. I met him when I was 7 years old. When you meet someone at that age, and carry on seeing him for the years to come, you're most likely going to grow attached to him. I never could. Lately, it was so hard for to fake a relationship we didn't have, that now I just can't even try to have a conversation with him over the phone. I can't. I might come across as horrible and selfish, I know, but had you lived through this for the past 22 years, then you'd understand where I'm coming from.
My biggest concern, right now, is to see that my nephews are doing well. My sister had lifted a huge weight off her shoulders, and while she has a hard time letting the boys go during the weekends so they can be with their father, I know she'll eventually get used to it. We're all there for her. As for the kids, Santiago was the one who felt worst when his parents told them. His birthday was just a week away, and he cried a lot, but he's doing better now. He knows he can count on whenever he needs us, and like I told him, "your dad is still here, just a phone call away. You can see him whenever you want to. Think how different it was for me".
As for Tomás, he's taking it very well. He was the one that suffered his dad's bipolar behavior towards him the most. A lot of Tommy's issues, a lot of his problems at school come from his dad's attitude towards him, from the psychological abuse he subjected them all to. You should have seen the change in him in just two weeks. He's doing great at school, has improved a lot, and even the relationship between the two brothers has improved greatly. It will be hard for them - it'll be hard for all of us, since we're all trying to work our schedules around to either bring them at home when they're on their own, or to keep an eye on them in some way when they're at their house, but so far, it's working. My only concern is that he is a time bomb, and we can't possibly predict when it'll all blow up and he'll go insane, because I know he will.
Ignore the many mistakes you surely found. It's past midnight here and I'm exhausted.
Well, a lot's been going lately. Even though I had promised not to take another teaching job, I ended up doing it, but since I was going pretty much insane, and my studies were really suffering from it, I had to leave one of them, even though the original teacher had extended her leave. I wasn't that happy with that school, actually, so when I was informed I could either accept extending my stay there or not without any issues, I decided not to. Besides, since the other school (the only one I'm working on right now) informed me last week that I'll be working with them all through October (and maybe even longer), I decided to keep that one alone. The kids are great and they work hard (or at least more of them! :P), and I also feel very comfortable there. I'm catching up with my studies now - I'm so behind with my reading, it's crazy. (Dracula is still glaring at me - I don't remember ever making it past page 100 XD)
Then, the other big piece of news is... that my sister got divorced. If you've been around this LJ long enough, you'll understand me if I whoop in joy. It's not something to be happy about it, I know, and even if I'm not, I'm definitely relieved. He was such a bastard to her, to their kids and to us for so long (22 years, people!), that you can imagine the relief I felt when she told me she had made the decision of asking him to leave the house. The good thing about it is that my sister is doing very, very well. Like I said, she's the one that made the decision, and while it wasn't easy, she's relieved now that he's out of her life. Of course, he's not out of our lives for good, not as long as my nephews are involved, but not having to see his face or stand his rude comments and behavior towards us is enough.
This was something that had been going round my sister's head for a long, long time. Two or three years ago, she had been told him very clearly that she didn't love him anymore. I can imagine how hard it was for her, the kids being the biggest reason why she had asked him to leave years ago. Knowing my sister, and having talked about this issue and many other things so much in the past two weeks (since they separated), she endured many, many things in silence. We've always been there for her, and while she trusts me a lot, I suppose it's hard to share some things, especially when you know exactly how your family will react (meaning: we'll jump at his throat, which is pretty much what we've been wanting to do since 1988 and never did since my sister was in the middle).
He didn't take it very well, of course, even if he had had a two-year notice. He never appreciated my sister, had raging issues, and had absolutely no problem on insulting his wife or his kids either in private or in public. No one, and I mean not one of our relatives, my sister's friends/ colleagues, not one of them could stand him. If we did, it was just because she was in the middle. On the first week he acted all civilized, but he's beginning to show his teeth now. Which isn't that surprising, really. I've been begging my sister to be careful, since he's pretty much a time bomb, and with his instability, only God knows when he'll explode.
The day they decided to separate, he asked to talk with me and my mom. I was a 100% sure he would come in his usual self and blame us for everything that had happened, but he was very tame. He even cried. And, of course, I didn't believe a single thing. He had TWENTY years to make things better. He never tried. He treated us in the worst ways. And it was so hard for me to pretend that I cared... because I didn't. I met him when I was 7 years old. When you meet someone at that age, and carry on seeing him for the years to come, you're most likely going to grow attached to him. I never could. Lately, it was so hard for to fake a relationship we didn't have, that now I just can't even try to have a conversation with him over the phone. I can't. I might come across as horrible and selfish, I know, but had you lived through this for the past 22 years, then you'd understand where I'm coming from.
My biggest concern, right now, is to see that my nephews are doing well. My sister had lifted a huge weight off her shoulders, and while she has a hard time letting the boys go during the weekends so they can be with their father, I know she'll eventually get used to it. We're all there for her. As for the kids, Santiago was the one who felt worst when his parents told them. His birthday was just a week away, and he cried a lot, but he's doing better now. He knows he can count on whenever he needs us, and like I told him, "your dad is still here, just a phone call away. You can see him whenever you want to. Think how different it was for me".
As for Tomás, he's taking it very well. He was the one that suffered his dad's bipolar behavior towards him the most. A lot of Tommy's issues, a lot of his problems at school come from his dad's attitude towards him, from the psychological abuse he subjected them all to. You should have seen the change in him in just two weeks. He's doing great at school, has improved a lot, and even the relationship between the two brothers has improved greatly. It will be hard for them - it'll be hard for all of us, since we're all trying to work our schedules around to either bring them at home when they're on their own, or to keep an eye on them in some way when they're at their house, but so far, it's working. My only concern is that he is a time bomb, and we can't possibly predict when it'll all blow up and he'll go insane, because I know he will.
Ignore the many mistakes you surely found. It's past midnight here and I'm exhausted.