Do you remember Amy? The sad friend of the Teen who was being neglected and mistreated by her divorced parents; neither of whom wanted her? Something [...]]]> I’ve prided myself for being an excellent judge of character for a good long time, but I am sad and horrified to learn that just might not be the case.

Do you remember Amy? The sad friend of the Teen who was being neglected and mistreated by her divorced parents; neither of whom wanted her? Something in the back of my mind always flatly stated that there was more to it than that. Parents don’t just decide out of the blue they don’t want their kids, right? She is a very nice girl, well mannered and easy going, and easy to like. I’ve honestly never seen anything in her behavior that suggested otherwise. Until the phone call.

I’ll back up a bit, because the story more or less begins with a text message I got from the Teen while I was rehearsing with ShaMoo and Knarf on Wednesday. It said “Mom… I need to ask you a favour”. Well, you just know that when said favour will take some getting to and talking around that it’s not going to be good, right?

Turns out that Amy was having problems with her dad and step mother again, and she and the Teen were sitting in a park talking all afternoon. The favour, as it turned out, was to have Amy come and stay with us until she could find somewhere else to go. I have told her and the Teen on more than one occasion that our home is a safe place for her to go if something bad happened, and I was willing to stand behind my word. The only stipulation, which I texted to the Teen as I got into the van to go and pick them up, was that I wanted Amy’s father to know where she was going to be, so I didn’t have the police arriving on my doorstep in the middle of the night looking for her. Again. The Teen texted me back that it would be ok, but that I shouldn’t go in and talk to her father. That I should let Amy handle it when she went in to get her clothes, and that I shouldn’t speak to her father, step mother, or mother at all. Wait… is that an alarm bell going off in your head? Mine too. I wrote back and said that I was pretty sure she wouldn’t tell him the truth, and being sneaky was not the way to go with this. That I needed to be upfront about it, and that I couldn’t “just take her”, legally.

Amy was visibly upset, shaking, and close to hysterical when I arrived at the park. I can’t stand to see anyone in that state and not try to help. I just can’t do it. The alarm bell was momentarily muted. I’m a mom, and I cannot imagine not coming to the aid of a child who so very obviously was in dire need of help.

She couldn’t meet my eyes, though, and when I reiterated that we’d just go talk to her dad and get some things, she muttered something about going to another friend’s house as she turned away. No way was I going to let her walk alone in the rain, going who-knows-where, in her obviously messed up condition. I told them both to “Get. In. The. Van.” and she reluctantly turned around and climbed in. I asked her point-blank if she was being abused, and she shook her head and said no. They just “don’t like me”.

Things were just not adding up here. I asked several times if she wanted me to come in and speak to her father, or if she’d like me to get the authorities involved, and each time she vehemently shook her head “no”. Said she’d be fine, and that it would blow over in a few days. When we got to her father’s house, she sat there for a solid minute looking at the house before she opened the door and got out. I told her that if she wanted me to come in, just to come to the door and wave at me, and I’d be there in a heartbeat. And she went in. 10 minutes later she came out carrying a small bag with very little in it. She was quiet and withdrawn all the way to our house, and didn’t emerge from the Teen’s bedroom the entire night, even to have dinner with us. Alarm bells quietly chimed away in my head, but I couldn’t get anything out of her, and the Teen just looked bewildered and worried.

Her real mother called that evening, and was surprisingly pleasant on the phone when she asked to speak to Amy, but didn’t want to have a conversation with me. Fair enough; I knew this woman had some major issues and there wouldn’t be any point in stirring things up with her. She had called to tell Amy that she’d be there at 1pm the next day to pick her up.

I did my best the next day to get through to Amy, and let her know that I was willing to step in and get her some help if things were truly that bad at home, but she refused to let me help her at all. As we stood out in the driveway waiting for her mother I hugged her, and she stood straight and stiff in my arms, not returning it. I touched her face, and told her she always had a safe place to go, and that I’d come and get her if she needed me. Any time. I’ve said all of this before to her. Her face didn’t change expression, she didn’t acknowledge what I was saying, and she seemed to be willing me to go away. The Teen gave me the “just let it go, Mom” look. Alrighty. I told her I’d be in the kitchen window watching, and if she wanted me to come and speak to her mother, just to give me a wave, and then I left them alone.

Her mother came, she got in the car, and they were gone.

A few hours later, imagine my surprise when Amy’s father called me on the phone. I’ve never spoken to the man before, but given what I’d been told about him, I was expecting him to be a pretty nasty customer. He wasn’t. He was, however, a soft-spoken, kindly sounding man who said he was dreading speaking to ME, but couldn’t think of what else to do. After a minute of careful pleasantries, he sighed and said “I guess I just need you to know about this situation with Amy, and I think you should know what she’s been telling us about you.” Okayyy… that was unexpected. She was talking to them about me?

He proceeded to explain that Amy had some troubling emotional issues. I thought to myself “Well, yeah? Of course she does – no one wants her!” But only said “yes, I had figured that out and was quite worried about her and her mental state, given how badly she was shaking when I picked her up yesterday, and again when her mother picked her up today”. He went on to tell me about the lies that Amy told them, the vicious attitude she displayed at home, how she stole money and things from both he and his wife, and how she manipulated her little brother to run interference for her when she wanted something she was told she couldn’t have. And then… then folks, he told me that they were under the impression that I was a raging alcoholic, and that I beat my kids on a regular basis. Yes, really. He then went on to say that when Amy ran away in June (which had the police on my doorstep looking for her at 1am, but she was elsewhere) he told the police what she had told them, and that he was terrified that she was in my home and possibly in danger. From me. “Yeah, sorry about that, because now I’m sure it’s not true.” Well, gee, thanks. That makes it all better, doesn’t it?

The more he spoke, the more it made sense. Where I was certain in the beginning of the conversation that Amy was an innocent caught between truly awful parents, I soon came to realize that the alarm bells had been telling me something else was going on, and this clarification from her father started to ring true. Very true. She was shaking because she’d been caught in yet another lie, and she was so dug-in to her web of lies that there was no getting herself out of it. She didn’t want me speaking to her parents because they would figure out I wasn’t, in fact, a monster, and then I’d find out what she’d been telling them about me!

So I was snowed by a 15 year old with some pretty severe mental issues. Way to go, Jenn.

‘Where was the Teen in all this’, you ask? Well, she was sucked in too, folks. She too was lied to, but she didn’t have the life experience to figure it out the way I should have. She was so busy trying to fix Amy’s problems and carrying all the stress of her “abused friend” on her shoulders that she has been an emotional mess for a while too. Amy didn’t tell her what she’d told her parents (and I come to find out a good many other people as well) about me. She’s been busy contacting their mutual friends to let them know the truth, and – lucky me – I get to contact the police and see how much of this lie has been documented, if any, and try to get it cleared up. Fortunately the Teen is there to negate the rumours, and Amy’s father can be contacted too. But I am beyond pissed. I’m beyond hurt. I’m slapped-in-the-face shocked that someone I went out of my way to help could turn around and be so evil.

Past contacting the police, I really don’t know what else to do about this. I don’t think there’s anything that I can do. Obviously Amy won’t be welcome in our home again, and the Teen has cut all ties to her. We’ve had a long in-depth chat about toxic people, and the effect they have on our lives. Lessons learned the hard way.

The Teen was such a different person on our vacation; happy and vibrant… yet the second we got home she reverted to moody and quiet again. And Amy was the reason. She sees that now, and unless I miss my guess, is relieved that all of this is finally out in the open and she can get the poison out of her life.

I’m just hoping the repercussions of this aren’t too far-reaching, and we’ve heard the last of Amy.

P.S. 6WS visitors – thanks for stopping by! I will return the visit, but can only leave a comment if you have Name/URL enabled on your [...]]]>

Missing J-B! Hope he’s having fun :)

P.S. 6WS visitors – thanks for stopping by! I will return the visit, but can only leave a comment if you have Name/URL enabled on your blog…

The basics:

Haiku is simple! It is 3 non-rhyming lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively (a great way to use your fingers!)

J-B is leaving [...]]]>

Sensational Haiku Wednesday

Welcome to “Sensational Haiku Wednesday!”

Click here for info and background on this weekly event!

The basics:

Haiku is simple! It is 3 non-rhyming lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively (a great way to use your fingers!)

This week’s theme is: Travel

The first step away
Worst for those left behind you
Hurry back to us!

J-B is leaving us for an extended vacation across the pond! We will definitely miss him, and I’m sure you join me in our valediction;

Bon voyage, happy trails, arrivederci, and safe journey, J-B! XOXO

---

…Yeah….

Ok, so the Challenge for our Haiku-versary did not go as expected, and we didn’t get a single new haiku-er to join us! Wow, colour me disappointed. Perhaps I didn’t publicize it as well as I should have. I don’t believe it was lack of interest, because… well, it’s haiku, and that makes it cool. ‘Nuff said. I’ll do something different for our next challenge, and someone will definitely win!

We did get some past haiku-ers back though, and that was delightful to see!! Welcome back to the fold, friends! ;)

Next week’s theme: Contemplation

Note: Nothing makes me happier than to see new people getting “hooked on haiku”! Keep it going to make it to the Hooked on Haiku List

To participate in this week’s event, please use the following code in your post on your own blog (if you don’t have a blog, post your Haiku as a comment):

<a href="http://youknowthatblog.com/tag/haiku-wednesday"><img src="http://youknowthatblog.com/images/youknowthatblog-haiku2.jpg" width="250" height="160" alt="Join the fun!" title="Join the fun!"></a>

Our waiter, Frank, took a decidedly unspectacular picture of us:

We had a lot of laughs, shared [...]]]> Just a quick update to our anniversary evening. We had a wonderful meal at a small Italian restaurant called Pasqualino’s – and when I say wonderful, I mean my eyes were rolling back in my head it was so good!

Our waiter, Frank, took a decidedly unspectacular picture of us:

We had a lot of laughs, shared some lovely gifts, and had a wonderful time. All is right with the world…

A year ago today, four people met in a kitchen, unsure of how to get things started. They knew what they wanted, but didn’t really know how they were going to do it. They had no backup, and only a few sheets of paper to go by. It was a rocky [...]]]> Not your history! Mine! ;)

A year ago today, four people met in a kitchen, unsure of how to get things started. They knew what they wanted, but didn’t really know how they were going to do it. They had no backup, and only a few sheets of paper to go by. It was a rocky start, and after waffling around a little bit, they all smiled at each other, but silently wondered if they were doing the right thing.

This evening, those same people will be dining together, celebrating their first “anniversary”.

What a difference a year makes! Soon after we came together as Main Street we welcomed Walt aboard, first only as a part time accompanist, and more recently as a fully-fledged part of the group. Walt also has a wonderful Baritone voice and now sings with us when we do a cappella (unaccompanied) songs, which is awesome. Guess what? That means we’re no longer a quartet! Now we just call ourselves a group and be done with it. We will always have our original “Core Four” who started things though, and of course that is what we’re celebrating tonight.

What else… Well, we have been to the recording studio not once, but twice! The first time was so exciting for us; a real dream come true! We have performed in concerts, benefits, been hired for street festivals and smaller events, and have more of the same already booked for the second half of this year! We have been honoured to entertain people young and old. We have worked hard to develop an amazingly large, diverse music library. Most importantly though, we have had a great time together, and formed a true family and a bond that none of us could have foreseen a year ago.

Happy Anniversary to the Core Four, and my best friends, ShaMoo, Knarf, and J-B. I love you guys more than I can express. Here’s to many more years, and many many adventures together!

Usually I’m very good about dates, and remembering things like that – I had intended to do a big splashy “Woohoo, lookie here” post, and now I’m just a lame [...]]]> I can’t believe I completely forgot about my anniversary! No, not that one – this Blog’s 1st anniversary! It was May 16th – a whole week ago!

Usually I’m very good about dates, and remembering things like that – I had intended to do a big splashy “Woohoo, lookie here” post, and now I’m just a lame duck, doing the V-8 head smack because I totally forgot about it.

Oh well.

In comparison to most of the blogs I follow, I’m still a babe in the woods! There will be many more anniversaries and milestones to celebrate.

Speaking of anniversaries, there are 2 rather important ones coming up in the next few weeks. First, my 19th wedding anniversary is on June 1st. Remember – last – year? Probably not, since I only had 2 or 3 readers at the time! Anyway, I have no worries that 19 will be forgotten this year. He hasn’t mentioned it, but that isn’t unusual either. It won’t be romantic, but it will be celebrated.

The other anniversary is – forgive me, Hubby – more exciting! Main Street celebrates our first year together in blissful harmony on June 17th. How far we’ve come in the span of a year. From meeting in our kitchens and squeaking out the first uncertain notes as we got used to harmonizing with each other, to being hired for festivals and giving our own concerts. It has been the BEST. YEAR. EVER. We’re still not sure what we’re going to do for our anniversary, but we do know it will be spent together, raising a glass (or three) and celebrating the best friendships we’ve ever known.

June is going to be a great month!

Actually… just head over to her site, and be sure to leave her a hearty congrats, will you?

I am just so thrilled for my friend – she really deserves the recognition for her stunning artistry. *hugs* [...]]]> Doodle Cakes finally got her featured cake online, so I’m able to show you as well!

Actually… just head over to her site, and be sure to leave her a hearty congrats, will you?

I am just so thrilled for my friend – she really deserves the recognition for her stunning artistry. *hugs* to Doodle!!

I cannot tell you how proud I am of Doodle Cakes!!!

My kick-butt, cake artist friend has just found herself featured in Cake Central Magazine‘s Wedding Issue!! What a coup this is for her! I am so excited I can’t contain myself!!

I’m not sure if I’m allowed to use the image of [...]]]> Move over, Cake Boss…!

I cannot tell you how proud I am of Doodle Cakes!!!

My kick-butt, cake artist friend has just found herself featured in Cake Central Magazine‘s Wedding Issue!! What a coup this is for her! I am so excited I can’t contain myself!!

I’m not sure if I’m allowed to use the image of the cake or not, so I’m not going to upload it just yet in case it gets both of us in hot water, but if/when I can, you’ll be the first to see it!

I’m so proud of her, but not surprised at all. We all know how amazing and talented she is, right folks??

Head over to her site and see some of the most awe inspiring cakes you’ve ever laid eyes on!

This one is just a sample…

The basics:

Haiku is simple! It is 3 non-rhyming lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively (a great way to use your fingers!)

My submission for this week: