Big Kids Eyes

I can remember a spot in time.  I was ten years old and my family had went to the grocery store together.  We normally did not do this, but this was the case on this day.  Our family had gone through many storms and there was a shred of light at the end of the tunnel.  Both my parents were finally working.  We rented a nice house and we had a car.  We finally had a car.  I was feeling like all was going to be well when my mother started this conversation with her husband about quitting her job.  There was talk that she had made a mistake, but she felt that it was someone else.  I heard her mention that there was a serious medication error.  I thought to myself that it would end her career.  We only had two hospitals in the entire town.  If you messed up at one, the other would not hire you.  It was at this point, that I realized that we were soon going to lose everything that we said we had.  I thought we were off the roller coaster ride, but it has just stopped to start all over again.  Eventually we did lose the house, the car, and the family unit.  My mother and stepfather separated permanently.  My brother went to live with another relative.  We made it in on bits and pieces.  I could tell all of that was coming from that one day in the back of the car.  It is truly amazing when a kid gets his big kids eyes.